Al'vonte Woodard

Last week in this space, we took a look back at how Brandon Wimbush cemented his status as a potential breakout college football star with his performance this spring, but Wimbush wasn't the only Notre Dame quarterback turning heads this fall. Brian Kelly was clear is saying there is no quarterback controversy in South Bend, but the Irish head coach was equally clear on how impressed he was with what he saw from Ian Book this spring. And Kelly wasn't the only one.We caught up with Book's personal quarterback coach at The Range, Will Hewlett, for his thoughts on what he saw from the redshirt freshman."I'd like to say I was surprised, but I fully expected him to have a really good spring and perform well," Hewlett says. "Going into the spring with a lot of the focus being on Brandon Wimbush, and deservedly so, I felt like Ian did every little thing he possibly could have from my perspective, sitting back here, to prove he can A) hang and play for the Irish and B) that he's a competitor. I think a lot of people were probably surprised by his performance, but that's kind of his MO. "I think everyone was surprised when he ended up at Notre Dame. Who's this 6-foot tall kid out of Northern California? That's kind of been his story. For those who have watched him and known him, that's what we've come to expect. I'm really pleased for him. He should be pumped up coming out of spring."Book has been aware of doubters throughout his career, but it's never necessarily bothered him, according to Hewlett."One of the neat things about Ian is that I don't think there was ever an element where he had any kind of anger or discouragement," the coach says. "He never appeared to ever really be affected by the lack of recruitment. I think sometimes the coaches and parents get more caught up in it than everyone else."During the recruiting process, he was confident he would find the right fit and it ended up being Notre Dame."The schools that weren't quick to judge him on first glimpse were smart and ended up offering him," Hewlett says. "One offensive coordinator at a big Pac-12 school admittedly said that he missed on Ian after watching his senior film and regretted it. But it worked out great and I think it's still working out great for him."Book prides himself on his accuracy and ability to deliver the ball under pressure and is always looking to improve."We're on a never-ending quest to perfect the mechanics," Hewlett says. "I always look at athletes that I train and think, 'Where can we get one or two percent better that will add up over the long term?'"We're going to continually look at adding more velocity to his throws. I think he showed he has the velocity and arm strength during the spring game."That may not always be obvious when Book is being compared to Wimbush, who Hewlett says, "might have the strongest arm in the country.""We're going to look at refining little things and finding deficiencies anywhere and eliminating those," Hewlett adds. "I think he'll handle the pressure well and be able to handle the situation. Making sure he's prepared and feels confident in his ability to hold up to the moment. He's going to continue to learn and grow with his staff obviously. They did a fantastic job."Hewlett is convinced Book will get his chance eventually and will take advantage of it when it comes."I think the staff is probably as confident as I am in his ability to be a player for the Irish and not just an arm. He'll contribute. He will contribute. By the time he leaves the Irish, he will have contributed to Notre Dame, so I'm excited for him."DECISION ON HORIZON FOR AUSTIN: We spoke with a source down at North Broward Prep this week about 2018 Florida wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr., who announced a final four last week of Notre Dame, Duke, Miami and Tennessee."From an academic standpoint, from a football and a future standpoint, I don't think many on campus were surprised by the four he selected," our source said. "We knew he was looking for high-academic schools. We knew he was obviously looking for an opportunity to play at a high level. "Seeing those four schools, it was exactly what I'd expect from him knowing how much he commits himself to the classroom and knowing how much he'll commit himself to a high level of college football. He expects that of himself. I know that regardless of where he goes, he's going to expect himself to go in there and compete and be a guy who's ready for that competition and what's next."When he announced his finalists, Austin teased that an announcement would be coming "soon," but other than that, no timeline has been defined."I'll be honest, I really don't," our source said. "I know the process of making a decision soon is very much in play. I know he's ready to get that weight off his shoulder, but I'm unsure as to when that decision is going to come."There has been some late buzz that Duke could be a bigger factor here than many believe, but our source noted several reasons why the Irish are considered by many to be the frontrunner."I think the experience, all of the intangibles are there obviously, as are the tangibles," we were told. "The experience and the feel of the campus, even him just going to check out the spring game. I know that was a Saturday experience unlike anything he's ever seen. Those Saturday experiences and game day experiences and the support from the town and the school are very big to him. "Tied to that, the tradition of the program and the tradition of the University are second to none really. It's hard to name a brand quite like Notre Dame Football. I think those things are big for him along with the classroom setting and the campus. His family is very much playing a role in the decision as well and all of those boxes seem to be checked."IRISH STAY BUSY IN TEXAS: Multiple members of the Notre Dame staff have spent time in the Lone Star State the last couple of weeks with defensive backs coach Todd Lyght canvassing the state last week followed by defensive coordinator Mike Elko swinging through this week.We mentioned this in this space last week, but received further confirmation this week that despite a verbal commitment to Baylor, 2018 Texas safety Christian Morgan remains open to "major schools" like Notre Dame. Lyght was at Porter High School last week and it sounds like he was impressed with he saw before Elko followed up. While we know Morgan's interest in Notre Dame is serious, despite not having received a Notre Dame offer yet, we get the sense the Irish's interest in Morgan is also serious. Following a stop in South Bend last month, Morgan told us an offer would put Notre Dame atop his list. Baylor is obviously at the top now, but the Bears would have a fight on their hands if the Irish do offer.There always seems to be a couple high school secondaries each cycle that are flat loaded, whether it was Rancho Cucamonga last year or Cass Tech in years past. This year, Lamar High School could have the nation's best defensive backfield. Elite 2018 prospects Anthony Cook and D'Shawn Jamison lead the way at corner, but Al'vonte Woodard would be a highly-ranked corner as well if he wasn't a highly-ranked receiver. They're joined by three other D-I prospects. It's going to be tough, but the Irish are going after both Cook and Jamison. Cook did include Notre Dame in his top 10, although the Irish aren't in the lead pack. Jamison is considered a heavy Texas lean, but has expressed some interest in visiting. Notre Dame will need to get both on campus to even have a shot, but sources tell us they are such great players it's worth the chase.As we mentioned on Thursday's recruiting edition of ISD Power Hour, 2018 Texas defensive end Joseph Ossai has been a Texas A&M lean for a long time now and that remains the case today, but he hasn't shut off other schools by any means. Texas is coming after him hard and out-of-state schools like Notre Dame and Arkansas are also pushing. Notre Dame was at Oak Ridge High School this week and Ossai continues to talk about getting up to South Bend for a visit this summer. Academics will be crucial for Ossai, who wants to major in Engineering. He's in no rush to make a decision either as he'll do his best to keep his focus on his high school squad. He plans to use all five official visits and isn't expected to make a decision until the winter.On Wednesday, Notre Dame extended an offer to 2019 Texas linebacker Nana Osafo-Mensah. The Nolan Catholic High School standout already had offers from schools like Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, USC and UCLA among others, but the Notre Dame offer was one he wanted. Part of that has do with Osafo-Mensah's Catholic upbringing."He's a kid that will actually mean something to," one source said of Notre Dame being a faith-based school. "Obviously, a lot of kids say it's special because it's Notre Dame, but that doesn't mean anything. That part means something to him."The same source told us Osafo-Mensah "lit up" when informed of the offer and would like visit South Bend at some point."I do think he'll take it seriously for sure. At the end of the day with him and his parents, it's going to be schools like that. It's going to be the Stanfords, Notre Dames, academic places. You throw in the fact that he's a devout Catholic and I think they'll be a frontrunner."We continue to hear how high Notre Dame is on 2019 Dallas safety Brian Williams. The Bishop Dunne standout has offers from premier programs across the country, but does have some interest in the Irish and has told us he's thinking about visiting this summer. Williams is the younger brother of Rawleigh Williams III, who made headlines this week with his story announcing his decision to walk away from the game and his role as Arkansas' starting running back."It was a tough decision for him, but it was the best thing for him," Williams said of his brother. "We're just getting by day to day and he's definitely feeling better about it, so I'm happy for him."I'm happy for him. I'm glad that he was able to make that decision and I'm just glad he has his health. That's what matters to me most, not if he's a football player or not. Just that he's healthy and he's able to be a big brother."JOHNSON TIMELINE NOT SO CLEAR: It's obvious DJ Johnson is going to take a good, long look at Notre Dame now that the 2018 Indianapolis cornerback has his Irish offer. That was obvious even before he got the offer.What's not so obvious is when he may shut down the process.Iowa was Johnson's named leader prior to the offer from Notre Dame, but now the Irish have at least pulled into a tie with the Hawkeyes, if they haven't surpassed them. He visited Notre Dame for a game last fall and is scheduled to be back for next month's Irish Invasion.It's almost certain there will be chatter then about Johnson potentially being on Commit Watch at that time, but there's a chance he'll try to hold off until he has a better understanding of all his options.This week, we spoke to new North Central High School head coach, Kevin O'Shea, about Johnson's timetable."When I first got here, he wanted it taken care of before the season started," said O'Shea, who's only been on the job for a couple months now. "Now, since some more teams have started rolling in and with this next wave of recruiting and especially over the summer, I think he's going to get some more offers. "I told DJ, 'When the time is right, you'll know it. Don't put a timeline on it. When you are ready to pull the trigger, you'll know it.'"In addition to Notre Dame, both Ohio State and Tennessee could end up offering."I think he owes it to visit some of these schools to see what they have to offer and see what's out there," his coach said. "As far as a teenager goes, you need to get up to the school and hang around with your potential teammates because those are the guys you're going to hang with for the next four or five years. Coaches come and go, we all know that. Nothing is guaranteed. "These are the guys you're going to be hanging with and you need to go up there and visit, not only in South Bend. You need to go up to Iowa, you need to go over to Ohio State, you need to go visit some of these schools and see how you fit in and see what your comfort zone is."But O'Shea isn't as concerned with when Johnson picks as a school as he is with Johnson finding the best school for him."If DJ pulled the trigger tomorrow, I'd be right behind him congratulating him and if he waits until Signing Day, I'll be right there for him too. I just want him to be comfortable."TREMBLE A TALENTED TIGHT END: Notre Dame broadened its search base a bit for a tight end in the Class of 2018 when it extended an offer to Georgia's Tommy Tremble last week. Despite family ties to Georgia, where his father played, as we said here last week, he's no lock to be a Bulldog.We caught up with his coach at Johns Creek High School, Matt Helmerich, for his thoughts on the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder."Explosive," said Helmerich, who just arrived at Johns Creek this offseason. "He's got an extremely high ceiling. "I think he was just learning the position a little bit last year. They played him a little bit at tight end and a little bit of an outside linebacker-type position. Now that he's found his niche so to speak as a tight end, he's just going to blossom."Through examining Tremble's junior film, Helmerich said he sees things "you just can't coach.""He's got this one play on film where he catches the ball, turns, jukes out the linebacker and gets upfield another 20 yards in one motion. You just can't coach stuff. That's just natural, God-Given talent and instincts. Once he gets in our system and we coach him up a little bit, I think he's going to be phenomenal."via GIPHY2019 LINEMEN LOOKING TO IMPRESS AT BIG MAN CAMP: Notre Dame has been hesitant about sending out offers to 2019 offensive linemen until in-depth evaluations are done.Some of those evaluations will undoubtedly be done at Notre Dame's Lineman's Challenge on June 24th.At least a pair of 2019 offensive linemen are already looking at making plans to get to South Bend to show Harry Hiestand and the rest of the Irish staff what they can do.New Jersey's John Olmstead already has nine offers from schools like Rutgers, Syracuse, Nebraska, Virginia, Minnesota and UCLA among others. The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder called Notre Dame one of his few dream schools and one he's had some communication with so far. The Irish have stopped by to check in on Olmstead during the Evaluation Period and he said he'll "probably" be able to make it to South Bend for the camp this summer.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/8294781/588b9c6b0c53f224bcb1e863New Jersey's Caedan Wallace has offers from schools like Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He visited South Bend for a game last fall and said communications with the Irish have increased recently. The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder was also invited to Notre Dame's camp and is still trying to find out if he can make the event. If he makes it, he'll be looking to get an idea of what Notre Dame is like without the hoopla of a game day atmosphere. Right now, the Nittany Lions and the Sooners seem to have a bit of an edge.http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4473074/58239c4411fa80508876e3ffDURHAM VISIT GOES WELL: Notre Dame hoops hosted UConn transfer prospect Juwan Durham last weekend and, according to multiple sources, the visit went about as well as could have been expected."It went great," one source said. "He absolutely loved it."A separate source told us, "It could not have gone better."One of the sources told us the 6-foot-10 Durham was really impressed with the people he met while in South Bend."The genuineness of the coaching staff," we were told of what stuck out most. "He really hit it off with the kids, the players a lot. Their style of play when he played pickup with them was really what he was looking for, a really team-oriented system."It sounds like Durham will take visits to Virginia Tech and potentially toward the end of the month, but at this point, Notre Dame has secured its spot as one of the frontrunners.