Notre Dame will be hosting one of their most marquee opponents of the season this weekend when the Georgia Bulldogs come to town, but that’s not all they are hosting. The Irish have a set of recruits lined up for official visits that could add to what is already a very good class. Land a couple of this weekend’s visitors actually and we’re using some better superlatives than “very good” to describe it.
We’ll add more if we see any confirmed between now and the weekend, but here are all of the main non-committed players visiting Notre Dame this weekend.
Houston Griffith (CB) – 4-star / #10 CB / #60 Overall
This is a big one folks. Notre Dame doesn’t have a single corner in the class of 2018 right now and they didn’t have any last year either. That has to change between now and February. Griffith is one of the best in the nation and fits the mold of the bigger corners Notre Dame has been targeting. At one point in the spring Notre Dame looked like the clear leader here, but then they faded to the point that some felt the Irish were an afterthought. Well, the staff stayed on Griffith and he is a recent addition to the visitor list. Todd Lyght and Mike Elko have put in good work here but now they need the Irish secondary to hold up against the Georgia receivers and rookie QB.
Kalon Gervin (CB) – 4-star / #22 CB / #214 Overall
And how about this. Former commitment Kalon Gervin who has had some on again off again interest in Notre Dame since decommitting, will be on campus for an unofficial visit.
https://twitter.com/KalonGervin/status/905574504184905733
Reports are the Gervin will not only be in town this weekend, but he will also visit officially in October for the USC game. This will be an interesting one to watch. Gervin liked Notre Dame enough in the spring to commit very early in the recruiting process before eliminating them for a while. It looks like Notre Dame is now firmly back in the race with Gervin visiting unofficially this weekend and then planning on being back on campus in a month for the USC game.
Jamarr Salyer – 5-star / #1 Guard / #7 Overall
Notre Dame has Cole Mabry and John Dirksen in the class now but they’d like to add more and Salyer would likely be the highest rated player, regardless of position, in the entire class if Notre Dame were able to pull this off. With the Georgia native coming in to see the Irish face his STATE U, Notre Dame has to play well in this one to have a chance. IF Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson can play this week like they did last week – or anywhere close to it – that should grab the attention of one of the nation’s top lineman. Georgia is running away with the 247 Crystal Ball currently for Salyer so Notre Dame has some ground to make up. A win this weekend would help.
Notre Dame is in good shape to add another talented OL class this year with Salyer one of several highly touted recruits high on the Irish at this point.
Chase Cota – 4-star / #21 Wide Receiver / #104 Overall
Notre Dame still wants to add another wide receiver or two in this class to pair with Kevin Austin and Micah Jones. Oregon – Cota’s STAT U – looks like the toughest competition here. Cota is reportedly pretty close with former Notre Dame commitment Braden Lenzy who abruptly decommitted from Notre Dame only to flip to the Ducks immediately. A strong performance from the Notre Dame wide receivers in the new Irish offense couldn’t hurt their chances.
Julius Irvin – 4-star / #20 Safety / #273 Overall
Notre Dame is in pretty good shape here, but Washington appears to be the top program and Irvin will be visiting there next weekend. With offers from Michigan and USC, Irvin’s got a pretty good cohort list. Pairing Irvin with Derrik Allen would be one hell of a dynamite safety duo in this year’s class.
Geordon Porter – 3-star/ #88 Wide Receiver / #484 Overall
Notre Dame is currently listed at 100% in the 247 Crystal Ball for the 3-star WR with offers from Arizona State, UCLA, Alabama, Georgia, and Utah. That is quite the interesting mix of offers actually. As noted earlier, Notre Dame wants to add another wide receiver to this class and if there is one thing I’ve learned about recruiting under Brian Kelly, it’s throw wide receiver recruiting rankings out the window. Kelly’s staffs have shown repeatedly regardless of who was on them that they can spot wide receiver talent.
Avonta Crim – 3-star / #113 Safety / NR Overall
A new name for Notre Dame., Crim will be visiting without and offer in hand but is expecting one upon visiting. If an offer comes, Notre Dame should be in good shape given the only other major program to offer to this point is Louisville. Iowa State, Rutgers, and UCF have offered as well and some other major programs in the south have been reportedly showing interest as of late including Florida and Clemson. Could be a case of Notre Dame getting in early on a late riser unlike last year when they got in late on some late risers and were unable to pull it off in the end.
Weather Could Impact Visitor List
Notre Dame commit Kevin Austin has already been scratched from this weekend’s visitor list because of the weather headed towards Florida from Hurricane Irma. It remains to be seen if that will impact any other recruits planning on visiting from the Southeastern region of the country. Tight end Tommy Tremble was a scratch as well but for injury, not weather related issues. Tremble will reschedule for later in the season.
Committed Players Visiting
Still looking for an “official” list of commits who will be on campus, but MIKE LB Jack Lamb is set to visit this weekend as is Derrik Allen. Seeing the secondary play well this week will be especially important with Allen – Notre Dame’s most important commit at the moment give the needs in the secondary. Having Allen on campus this weekend could be very big in the recruiting of Griffith and Gervin too if the three bond and hit it off.
Master recruiter Markese Stepp is expected to be on campus as well just like he was last weekend. Phil Jurkovec is as well. That can’t hurt with Porter and Cota.
Linebacker Ovie Oghoufo tweeted that he will be visiting this weekend too.
https://twitter.com/OvieOghoufo/status/904716114466406400
When Markese and Phil get in town they will lead us back to the Promised land. Heismans, National Titles are coming soon.