Tyler Luatua Has a Top Two

One of Notre Dame’s top remaining targets for the class of 2014, Tyler Luatua has two schools at the top of his list – Notre Dame and Alabama – according to a tweet on Wednesday night from the 4-star recruit himself.

Notre Dame just picked up commitment #18 for the Class of 2014 on Tuesday when Drue Tranquill flipped from Purdue to Notre Dame potentially filling a need at inside linebacker if he is able to bulk up and moves out of the secondary.  A commitment from Luatua wouldn’t come at a position of as much need as Tranquill, but it would be every bite as impactful – if not more so for the Irish.

Rivals ranks Luatua as the #4 tight end in the country and just about every powerhouse program in the country has offered Luatua proving he is considered one of the nation’s best tight ends by coaches as well as recruiting experts.  Notre Dame already has Nic Weishar committed to this year’s recruiting class.  Pairing him with Luatua would give Notre Dame another pair of elite tight ends just as they hauled in last year with Durham Smythe and Mike Heuerman.

A commitment from Luatua could have some positive reverberations for the Irish as well.  The California native is close friends with fellow California native JuJu Smith – a 5-star safety prospect whose playmaking skills the Irish secondary could desperately use.   A third elite California prospect, offensive lineman Damien Mama, also close friends with Smith and Luatua, recently dropped Notre Dame while announcing a final four of USC, UCLA, Alabama, and BYU.  How Mama’s elimination of Notre Dame impacts the decisions of Luatua or Smit

Luatua recently visited Alabama where his brother is a redshirt freshman and at least for now it appears as though this a two horse race between the Irish and Crimson Tide.  Luatua does, however, also have an official visit scheduled with Wisconsin next weekend and USC is considered a dark horse contender here as well depending on what happens during their coaching search.

A lot of Notre Dame fans were hopeful that the Irish could have secured a commitment from Luatua by now, but it appears as though this is still at the very least a two horse race and could expand depending on how his visit with Wisconsin goes and how the USC coaching search unfolds.   With Mike Denbrock as Notre Dame’s primary recruiter with Luatua though, the Irish should be in this one until the very end at least.