ISD Intel (1/6)
The Recruiting Yeti will finally speak and it will also be his final decision when Foster Sarell announces his commitment at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio tomorrow. Notre Dame has been right in the thick of things for the 2017 five-star offensive lineman from Washington since a summer visit to attend Irish Invasion. Sarell and his mother later acknowledged the trip to South Bend back in the summer was made essentially as part of due diligence with the idea of eliminating the Irish afterward, but that's not what happened. Instead, the family fell in love with the program and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand in particular.Distance has really been the only negative in terms of the recruitment, but it was always a big one. Sarell sees the opportunity on and off the field at Notre Dame in the future. The Washington native also knows that to better himself, he might need to get out of the area to grow, but Stanford would qualify in that category.Notre Dame has talent on the offensive line and have brought in talented tackles in Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg in the last year, but Sarell could give the Irish a player they don't have on the roster. He knows his skill set meshes well with Hiestand and the family feels very comfortable with Hiestand as a coach and a man. How is the relationship with Brian Kelly? We'd say it's good, as the family enjoyed having the head coach in their home and by all accounts was productive visit. Outside of Washington head coach Chris Petersen, the family hasn't really said anything about a head coach that had a 'Wow' factor. That's not to say they aren't complimentary of head coaches, but it's not a situation where it seems the head coach is going to be a major factor in the decision.If Sarell picks Notre Dame on Saturday, it will because of the relationship he has with Hiestand and the fact he wants to be part of the best offensive line class in the country. He knows he is wanted and fits in at Notre Dame, it will be a matter of him feeling comfortable to live across the country for the next four years. Additional Insight From Uyeyama: There are only so many Foster Sarells available each year. Like Kraemer and Quenton Nelson, he's that rare offensive lineman who is going to be physically ready to play as a true freshman even if he does not see action. Eventually, he is going to grow into the kind of player who can be equal parts elite pass protector and dominant run blocker. To use a basketball analogy, he is a 5 who can back down just about anyone to the basket, but has the feet of a stretch-4. When you miss out on a Joshua Kaindoh or a Robert Beal, guys who can be disruptive off the edge, the next best thing is to land a guy who can block them. Sarell is one of those guys. The four offensive linemen Notre Dame has earned commitments from all have the potential to be high-end starters for the Irish one day. With Josh Lugg, his ceiling is even higher than that. Adding Sarell means they would have one more player with a high ceiling wgo is a pretty safe bet to reach that ceiling at the next level. He could very well be an All-American at Notre Dame under Hiestand and you could jot his name down in permanent marker as a multi-year starter. So What Do We Think?: Unfortunately, we don't see this one going down that way. We get the sense Notre Dame believes it would have landed Sarell had the Irish had a successful season, but at this point, there doesn't seem to be an overwhelming sense of optimism heading into tomorrow's announcement. As of the middle of this week, Sarell hadn't told the Irish he wasn't coming, but the questions that have come from Sarell's side of late aren't the kind to inspire confidence.If the Irish had a better season, we'd feel better. If South Bend, Ind., was closer to Graham, Wash., we'd feel even better still. But they didn't and it's not, so we see Sarell staying out West.It's probably a toss-up between Washington and Stanford, but we're picking the Cardinal here.CALVIN COMMITMENT COMING: As we reported earlier this week, Jamire Calvin will also announce his decision during tomorrow's Army Bowl, but that may not be the end of the process for the 2017 California wide receiver as he's still considering using his final trip to either Texas or Oregon.We caught up with Calvin earlier this week to find out how he's dealing with the swings of the coaching carousel, which has hit many of the schools he's considering."That's the way it is," said Calvin. "You can't stop that."It's a part of the business and something you just have to get used to. It's nothing big, you just have to go with the process and make the right decision."Calvin's recruiter at Notre Dame, Mike Denbrock, has left as has Irish offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, but the West Coast wideout doesn't seem too concerned."It's Notre Dame," he said. "They're going to hire great coaches no matter what. It's a great program, great school with great academics, networking, everything about it. It's hard to say no to Notre Dame."The Longhorns and Ducks are making late plays with their new coaching staffs, which Calvin is trying to get know better."Just talking to them every day," he said of how he goes about building relationships with the coaches."Even with stuff outside of football, just having regular life conversations with them and getting to see the genuine side and who they really are as a person."So What Do We Think?: The momentum has been with Nebraska for Calvin and we think that's with good reason.The Irish definitely gave him something to think about during his official visit to South Bend last month, but we see him choosing the Cornhuskers tomorrow. If he were leaning toward the Irish, he probably would at least like to see who the receivers coach is going to be.Speaking of thatTALKING TARGET LIST: Notre Dame was confident Oliver Martin was going to choose Notre Dame during tomorrow's Army Bowl, but that was before Mike Denbrock's departure. Martin isn't going to announce at that game anymore and despite the 2017 Iowa wide receiver's official visit to Michigan State next weekend, there are some who believe it's a good sign that he's decided to push back that decision. Could it be he wants to see how things play out with the rest of Notre Dame's offensive coaching staff? We're told he's a kid who is smart enough to understand coaches come and go and there are more important reasons to choose a school, but he'd obviously like to know who he'll be coached by. So, despite losing Denbrock, who formed a strong relationship with Martin over the past few months, the Irish are still in play.Notre Dame is "still somewhat" in play for Jordan Pouncey after the Florida receiver's decommitment from the Irish last week, but decommitments and recommitments are rare for a reason.Beyond Martin and Pouncey, Notre Dame would still love to get Colorado wide receiver commit Chris Miller on campus for a visit along with fellow Texan Gavin Holmes. Whoever ends up being the new receivers coach will likely have some input as well, so it's impossible to know exactly how this will play out until he's in place. Scott Booker checked in on Georgia wideout Braylon Sanders before he was let go, but the Irish may not push hard for Sanders.At defensive tackle, Notre Dame is actively recruiting Brandon Pili from Alaska. The Irish really like this kid, but it's not clear if they'll be able to get him to campus or not just yet. Expect them to start pushing once they can. Virginia's Elijah Conliffe is another guy they really like, but they'll have to do get their hands on his transcripts to find out if he's a guy they can really go after. As we reported earlier this week, Hawaii defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa would be a good fit on and off the field and could be in line for an official visit in a few weeks. Florida defensive end Jarez Parks is on the board as well now. He's already taken visits to Alabama and Florida State and will take visits to Auburn and Florida this month, leaving one trip open. The Irish will be battling USC and others for that final visit. Lugg and Kmet have been working Parks hard in San Antonio, but he hasn't had much contact with the Irish staff of late.It'll be interesting to see how the Irish handle the linebacker situation down the stretch. They have a pair of MIKE backers already in David Adams and Drew White. They really like Virginia's Ellis Brooks, who told us he's planning to visit at the end of the month, but he's a MIKE as well. Then there's Michigan's Antjuan Simmons. He's a really good player, but at 5-11, we wonder how he'd fit in Elko's system.We continue to feel confident about that Elijah Hicks will stick in the class. A source this week told us the California defensive back really likes Notre Dame and the Irish don't seem overly concerned with him taking visits to Michigan and Cal. Look for Notre Dame to go after Washington athlete Connor Wedington very hard. Expect the Irish to go to see him as soon as they can to try to convince him a lot. They like him a lot.Notre Dame still loves Ohio safety TreSean Smith, who remains committed to Louisville, as well. We're told Elko has been working him hard, but Smith didn't have the greatest time on his unofficial visit for the Virginia Tech game given the environment after the loss. Notre Dame is hoping to get him back on campus the weekend of the 20th. Hard to overstate how much the Irish like Smith. He's the top DB left on their board. Latavious Brini recently told us he was still thinking about taking an official visit to Notre Dame, but that isn't going to happen. The Florida cornerback isn't being recruited by Notre Dame anymore, so cross him off. Expect new names to emerge down the stretch, but with so much staff turnover right now, it's hard to say who those will be just yet.2017 CT CB OPEN TO ND: One of the newest names on Notre Dame's board is 2017 Connecticut cornerback Jason Pinnock. As we reported last week, Pinnock was contacted by new Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko and is in line to take an official visit to South Bend later this month if things progress.On Thursday night, Pinnock announced his decommitment from Boston College while saying he would still consider BC. We know the Eagles staff wasn't thrilled with his decision to continue taking visits this late in the process, but Pinnock is mature enough to realize that he needs to examine all of his options to find the place that will benefit him best long term. He also had the chance to speak with friends who are in similar situations, which helped reinforce that belief.He will take an official visit to Pittsburgh next weekend and then one to Boston College the following weekend. If the Irish do offer, that'd be his last trip before National Signing Day, which could be his decision date.Elko told Pinnock he needs to get settled in at Notre Dame and get a look at the depth chart and recruiting board before officially extending an offer, but based on talent alone, Pinnock said Elko has deemed him worthy of an offer. Pinnock tentatively has an official visit to Notre Dame penciled in for the final weekend of the month, but he could try to move that up to Thursday instead of Friday in order to get back in time for his Windsor High School team's banquet that weekend.Academics is going to be a major factor in his decision and after being around him, we believe he's the kind of guy who would feel comfortable at Notre Dame.2017 Irish running back commit CJ Holmes, who is also from Connecticut, has already been on Pinnock. His coach at Windsor High School, Rob Fleeting, coached the late Asaph Schwapp at Weaver High School before Schwapp went on to play for the Irish and Pinnock's father played college ball at Indiana, so there are ties to the program and the Midwest.EVEN MORE ON ELKO: For the past couple weeks in this space, we've been bringing our readers all of the information we can on Mike Elko.We caught up with a yet another source this week who has had some interaction with the Irish's new defensive coordinator. This source echoes what we've heard about Elko being a good recruiter and said he was not totally different than Brian VanGorder when it comes to personality and that Elko can be a little intimidating and a kooky. Take that as you will, but the source believes Elko will have the attention of the Notre Dame defense and the Irish were paying close attention to the Wake Forest bowl game. "After watching the Wake Forest game, I am excited," stated the source. "I have to see what personnel he brings in, but I feel like Notre Dame is headed in the right direction." PRIMETIME PROJECTS WRIGHT AS PRIMETIME PLAYER: Deion Sanders' role as a coach during the Under Armour All-America Football Game isn't a ceremonial one.The Hall of Fame cornerback takes it very seriously and is vocally involved with virtually every rep. He's not shy about calling a player out when he messes up or lavishing praise when he succeeds. But Sanders' comments good or bad are almost exclusively directed toward defensive players. At times, it seems he enjoys essentially ignoring the offense, which is just one reason why this tweet about Irish tight end commit Brock Wright was so eye-catching.https://twitter.com/DeionSanders/status/814928435269156865 Irish Sports Daily caught up with Sanders afterward to find out what led him to making the statement."87 is a grown man," Sanders said. "87 is a grown man. 87 is going to play on Sundays some night."He's got fight, determination. He can block and run routes. This kid is a freak. I call him Young Gronk, man."Asked whether he thinks Wright could be that good, Sanders quickly snapped back."I'm not thinking. I know he could be that good. If Notre Dame gets this boy the darn ball and lets him do what he does, this boy is going to play on Sundays."GOLIC SEES HOPE FOR FUTURE AT UNDER ARMOUR: Earlier in the week, we heard former Notre Dame defensive lineman and ESPN Radio host Mike Golic's thoughts on the Irish's 2016 season and why he believes they can turn things around in 2017.As a coach for the Under Armour All-America Game, Golic saw reasons for hope beyond 2017 in the five Notre Dame commits who were in the game. "All of them just because they're here," Golic said of which commits stuck out to him."We've got a good-sized tight end (Wright) coming. The lineman (Robert Hainsey), he's got nice hands and feet, real nice hands and feet. David Adams, the linebacker from Pennsylvania, I mean come on. He's as tough as they come. You look at these guys and look at what good-looking athletes they are."Avery Davis also caught Golic's eye."The quarterback too, the dual-threat that he is," he added. "He's got a nice arm. I saw him throwing well and obviously, he moves well. "It was really, really nice to see them and to see them performing here with some of the top players. All of these players are going to Power Five schools, so it's good to see how the Future Domers compete against these guys and I have a feeling they're going to compete very well."BEHIND THE SCENES AT UNDER ARMOUR: We had the chance to check in with a player who was at Under Armour last week (not a Notre Dame commit) to get a real look at what it's like and what the players truly think.This is just a sneak peek, we'll have a full look at it up on the site soon.What's the vibe like at an All-Star game with so many egos and guys used to being "the man"?On the first day of practice, you can see everyone is out there trying to prove himself, and I get that. But, I think at times it went a little too far. The very first period of practice was supposed to be a "walk through," but it was not a walk through. Do I understand why guys were going that hard? Yes. Do I agree with it? No. We hadn't even gone through a warmup yet. It was interesting to see in the walk through periods the following days how nobody was going that hard because most guys were so out of shape they were too tired to do so.Most overrated player at UA and why?Marvin Wilson. For some reason, every single recruiting reporter loves Marvin Wilson. Now I am not trying to take anything away from him as I think he is a great player and has the potential to be successful. However, he regularly got whooped in 1 v 1s and didn't even register a tackle in the game. He has to understand that his high rankings paired with his outspoken attitude that guys are going to be gunning for him, and rarely does he respond in dominant fashion.
