Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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154 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Top Five Storylines ON THE FLIP SIDE Like every school, Notre Dame had its share of decommitments in 2017, with five players pledging to the Irish only to eventually reopen their recruitment. Indianapolis Cathedral four-star linebacker Pete Werner (signed with Ohio State), La Mi- rada (Calif.) High four-star cornerback Elijah Hicks (California), Mansfield (Texas) High four-star cornerback Paulson Adebo (Stan- ford), Beaver Falls (Pa.) High four-star defen- sive end Donovan Jeter (Michigan), Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge four-star defensive end Robert Beal (Georgia), and Winter Park (Fla.) High three-star receiver Jordan Pouncey (Texas) all committed to Notre Dame, but ended up signing elsewhere. However, during the final week of the re- cruiting cycle, Notre Dame flipped five players from other schools. San Diego Central Catho- lic three-star safety Jordan Genmark Heath got the ball rolling Jan. 26 after he decommitted from California and joined the Irish. Three days later, Notre Dame picked up two more — Charlotte (N.C.) South Mecklenburg two-star kicker Jonathan Doerer flipped from Maryland and Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege three-star wide receiver Jafar Armstrong switched from Missouri. The final two came on National Signing Day, when Hampton (Va.) Bethel three-star linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Washington (D.C.) St. John's College defen- sive end Kofi Wardlow reversed course and joined Notre Dame's class. The Irish offered Owusu-Koramoah Jan. 19, and the then-Virginia commit was in South Bend a week later for an official visit. The three-star prospect backed off his pledge to the Cavaliers and narrowed his choices down to Michigan State and Notre Dame before choos- ing the Irish. Wardlow, a three-star recruit who had pledged to Maryland, was offered by Notre Dame Jan. 18 and took an official visit to South Bend two days later. He remained committed to the Terrapins all the way until National Sign- ing Day before inking with the Irish. Notre Dame lost some coveted players dur- ing the 2017 cycle, but was able to repair much of the damage in the closing weeks. NEW STAFF CLOSES STRONG A disappointing 4-8 season led to major changes on the Irish coaching staff, with the departures of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, defensive line coach Keith Gilm- ore and tight ends/special teams coach Scott Booker. Associate head coach and wide re- ceivers coach Mike Denbrock left to become the offensive coordinator at Cincinnati, while co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford accepted the head post at Western Kentucky. Head coach Brian Kelly filled the vacant positons by hiring Chip Long from Memphis to be the offensive coordinator, Mike Elko from Wake Forest to be the defensive coordina- tor, Clark Lea also from Wake Forest to be the linebackers coach, former Nevada head coach (2013-16) and Irish assistant (2005-09) Brian Polian to take over special teams, former Ari- zona State assistant Del Alexander to mentor the receivers, and alum Tom Rees to coach the Irish quarterbacks. Despite the relationships lost, starting from square one with some recruits and transition- ing to a new defensive scheme, the staff was able to keep most of its commitments in the fold. Furthermore, in the week leading up to National Signing Day, the new staff reeled in six commitments — Genmark Heath, Doerer, Armstrong, Owusu-Koramoah, Wardlow and Kapolei (Hawai'i) High defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa — despite there being no previous engagement between the players and Notre Dame before the new coaches' arrival. That finish put the program in a much better spot heading into the future. They filled several needs in the 11th hour and showed their poten- tial on the recruiting trail in a short timeframe, building relationships quickly and efficiently. That momentum has been carried over into the 2018 class, with six commitments added between Feb. 13 and June 13 to the original six players who were pledged by August 2016. ZERO CORNERBACKS SIGNED Due to the January losses of Adebo and Hicks, Notre Dame did not sign a true corner- back in 2017. The blow was eased slightly when 2018 Detroit Cass Tech cornerback Kalon Gervin pledged to the Irish in February. But that was short lived because he decommitted in May. Fortunately, the Irish brought in six defen- sive backs in the 2016 class — including cor- nerbacks Donte Vaughn, Julian Love and Troy Pride, all whom saw playing time as freshmen this past season. However, in order to avoid depth issues in the coming years, cornerback will be a top priority for the Irish in 2018. CLASS OF 2017 OVERVIEW Despite a 4-8 season and turnover on the coaching staff, the Irish closed strong to finish with another top-15 class BY COREY BODDEN AND DAVID MCKINNEY A s a general rule, a lack of success on the field can make it difficult for a program to achieve its goals on the recruiting trail. Following a 4-8 season last fall, Notre Dame ex- pected to endure some attrition with its 2017 class heading into National Signing Day. However, thanks in part to a huge effort from the revamped coaching staff in the closing month of the cycle, the Irish finished No. 13 in Rivals' team rankings. Head coach Brian Kelly and his staff brought in 21 total prospects, several of which could make an impact early in their Irish careers.