6 Thoughts on a Thursday
Thoughts on getting creative while recruits can't visit campus, why game days could become big recruiting weekends again, the value of "Athletes" as prospects, and more
2021 CB JK Johnson makes a commitment
2021 CB Jakailin Johnson commits to Ohio State.No, the coaching interview/process with his head coach Robert Steeples didn't hurt Notre Dame here. It would have only been a positive if he was hired at Notre Dame, but Johnson had been trending Ohio State.
2021 CB Jakailin Johnson Eliminates Notre Dame
2021 De Smet (Mo.) cornerback Jakailin Johnson released his top 6 on Friday and Notre Dame wasn't included, which isn't a huge surprise. The four-star prospect will focus on Clemson, Florida, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC moving forward. Johnson and Notre Dame hadn't been in great contact and the lack of CB coach likely hurt a little bit, but not sure it was a difference-maker as other programs showed they wanted him a little more. In other words, I'm not overly sure how hard Notre Dame was pushing for him at this point in time as there might have been a few concerns to work through.Now, I do think Johnson would have likely given Notre Dame a much harder look and would have likely been in his top group if his head coach, Robert Steeples, had been offered the job at Notre Dame, but once again, I'm not sure how hard the Irish were pushing for him. And that's a rare/unique situation.
On the CB coach opening
While most of the Notre Dame world has focused on Christian Parker and other names, ISD has been tracking a new name on the coaching front for Notre Dame's vacancy.De Smet (Mo.) head coach Robert Steeples is a name to watch as we're told he's firmly in the mix for the job.Steeples comes from an NFL background as a DB and took over the De Smet job a few years ago when they were in the dumps. He went undefeated this season and won a State Title.2020 WR Jordan Johnson hails from De Smet as well as 2020 four-star CB Jakailin Johnson.If Steeples is in fact the guy, I see this being a very good thing for Notre Dame despite never coaching college football as he has a chance to be an absolutely dynamic recruiter and has familiarity with the type of kid who will want to come to Notre Dame. Steeples is known as being a GREAT leader, which is something you can't put a pricetag on either. When we get more, we'll share.
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ISD Video | Under Armour Future 50 Highlights
Highlights the Future 50 at the Under Armour All-America Game