(UHND.com) – Notre Dame’s Junior Day this past weekend netted the Irish their second and third commitments of the year in the form of wide receiver John Goodman and offensive lineman Braxston Cave. Both prospects are local products from the Hoosier State and both were recent recipients of scholarship offers from Notre Dame and Michigan.
Cave, (6’4”, 290) from nearby Penn High School, only received his offer from Notre Dame within the last week, and it didn’t take long for him to commit to Charlie Weis this weekend. Michigan had also recently offered Cave at their Junior Day in February. Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Greg Mattison has also been recruiting Cave fairly hard recently, but the Gators had yet to offer.
Florida’s delay is definitely Notre Dame’s gain because Cave is one of the better center prospects in the country. Depending on where Andrew Nuss, Emeka Nwankwo, and Chris Stewart end up playing, the Irish could be low on numbers along the offense line again next year which has made the offensive line a major focus of recruiting for Weis. Cave is the second offensive linemen to already to commit to Notre Dame along with Mike Golic Jr.
Notre Dame’s other catch of the day, John Goodman, is a big, strong, and fast wide receiver from Fort Wayne. Because Goodman happens to be white, the Jeff Samardzija comparisons are inevitable, but for what it’s worth, Scout.com lists Goodman at 6’4”, 190 right now while they had Samardzija listd at 6’4”, 191 coming out of high school. I’m just saying….
Goodman isn’t a speed merchant, his 40 times is listed in 4.5 range, but he is a pretty good all around receiver with some great size. He’s got plenty of room on his 6’4” frame to bulk up and add strength and very well could end up playing a role similar to what Samardzija has done the past two years.
Notre Dame will have seven receivers with at least three years of eligibility left heading into this year (DJ Hord, Richard Jackson, Robby Parris, George West, Barry Gallup, Duval Kamara, and Golden Tate), so it’s like Notre Dame will look to only bring in three receivers this year. Goodman is a nice start by giving the Irish a big, tall target. Look for Notre Dame to target at least one home run threat type receiver to compliment Goodman.
Neither Goodman or Cave made Rivals’ early Top 250, but don’t let that fool you, both of these kids are very good prospects and their other suitors are proof of that. Cave was supposed to visit Florida in the near future and Goodman was planning on camping at Michigan this summer.
