(UHND) — Notre Dame has had horrible luck with public announcements on ESPN over the last decade or so. The Irish have been burned over and over again with public announcements on the network, but the tide may be turning. On Monday, cornerback Raeshon McNeil (6’0”, 175) picked the Irish love on ESPN news as Notre Dame’s 12th verbal commitment of this year’s class.
With each commitment, I keep repeating myself at how impressive of a start this is to the recruiting season and that was evident again today. McNeil is a true corner prospect and is a top 100 prospect according to Tom Lemming. McNeil comes in at #91 in Lemming’s latest ratings and is listed in Rivals.com’s Top 250.
Last year the Irish began to change the trend of being burned on the live announcements when DJ Hord picked the Irish at the Army All American Bowl. The most notable ESPN announcement however came in 2002 when Lorenzo Booker picked Florida State after it was reported all over the internet that he would be selecting the Irish. Since then every Irish fan has been very skeptical every time a recruit makes a live announcement on ESPN or any other network.
This commitment wasn’t just big because it came live on ESPN News. This commitment was huge because McNeil is a straight up cover corner — something Notre Dame has had a hell of a time recruiting over the year. The cornerback position was a thorn in the side of the previous two Note Dame coaches and is big position of need for the Irish this year.
McNeil covers the deep ball well and has lots of speed for the position. He is also very quick and has good acceleration. His athletic ability also has him returning punts and he has made some big plays as a returner for his Davie County High School team.
