Isaah Crocker

Notre Dame's offer to Tyler Johnson earlier this week caught some by surprise, but not because of any questions about his talent. The 2019 Texas offensive lineman already had offers from schools like Texas, Oklahoma, TCU, Baylor, LSU, Arkansas and Nebraska, so he's definitely the kind of premier talent worth the Irish chasing. It's the "2019 offensive lineman" part that grabbed the attention of some after multiple indications recently that Irish offensive line coach Harry Hiestand wasn't quite ready to throw out offers to current sophomores just yet. Evidently, that process got accelerated a bit for Johnson, which is a good thing, according to one source close to Johnson. "The biggest deal is one thing he has is something you can't coach and that's 6-5, 293 pounds and moving around like a gazelle," the source said. "When you have a for-sure thing, you better go out there and take care of it, not play around with it and get it done and that's something they've done. "They know he's a sure thing. If he's blessed to stay healthy, they know what he's going to be. This kid is one of those that doesn't come through too often." Johnson does have an early interest in the Irish, which he demonstrated by taking an unofficial visit to South Bend last fall. He's also a high academic kid who may be looking at each school's engineering department as closely as their football programs. It's also worth noting Johnson is teammates at Oak Ridge High School with 2018 Notre Dame defensive end target Joseph Ossai, who was offered by the Irish back in February. "He's another very high academic guy," the same source told us of Ossai. "He's looking to be in robotics engineering. He's looking at a lot of his schools academically before athletically. He's doing a lot of homework as far as the engineering is concerned. "Joseph has a checklist that he goes down with every school and it has nothing to do with football. He goes down every one of those and really does his homework as far as those schools are concerned." Ossai hasn't released a top 10 yet, which he's expected to do sometime this summer, but it's been clear for months Texas A&M is the school to beat. That doesn't mean the Irish are without a chance though. "He's spoken of Notre Dame within the last couple weeks, I know that," the source said. "Joseph is open to every school out there and he understands that and his family understands that." And while the duo may not be a package deal, Notre Dame recruiting both is a smart move, according to our source. "In my humble opinion, I think it does (help). They've made a couple of trips together. You're always more comfortable when you have someone around you who you know. This isn't one of those tic-for-tacks. Both of those kids are legitimate ballplayers for the BCS level. It's not like someone is sacrificing something by offering both. It goes a long way to be able to have someone you know at a place." ND STILL #1 FOR FRANKLIN: Earlier this week, Ja'mion Franklin announced he'd be making his college declaration on July 1st. The 2018 Maryland defensive tackle hasn't made a decision yet, but when he visited South Bend last month, he left calling Notre Dame his leader. On Wednesday, Franklin told Irish Sports Daily nothing had changed in that regard. "Yeah, ND is still there," he said. The Ridgely, Md., native was impressed with everything about Notre Dame as a school and a program from the players, coaches and people he met while in South Bend. He called the atmosphere and Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston "great."Franklin still plans on taking some other visits before his announcement, but is also looking at making a return trip to Notre Dame, giving the Irish a chance to put this one away. CROCKER CALLS IRISH INTEREST REAL: Ever since being offered by Notre Dame back in February, Isaah Crocker has expressed a growing interest in Notre Dame. In fact, the 2018 California wide receiver confirmed with ISD this week that Notre Dame is "the team to beat." The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder from Sacramento likes the Notre Dame Football program and, "On top of that, academically, it's a good school you can graduate from and everything like that," he said. He's been in pretty steady contact with Irish assistant coach Brian Polian, who Crocker expects to drop in on him at some point in the weeks to come. Crocker says Notre Dame is one official "that's already locked in," although in terms of it being one trip he knows he'll take as opposed to having an exact date. He's hoping to get to South Bend during his Inderkum High School squad's bye week, but he doesn't have his schedule yet. He hasn't ruled out trying to take an unofficial this summer either. Notre Dame will have plenty of competition though from the West Coast powers. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State have all extended offers and he expects to make stops at each soon. But the school to watch as much as Notre Dame is probably Cal. Crocker grew up a Cal fan and is definitely attracted to the education in Berkeley. Crocker doesn't have a timeline for a decision with some hoping he makes one before the start of his senior season while he's thought about waiting all of the way until January. OFFER PUTS IRISH IN GREAT POSITION WITH KARLAFTIS: George Karlaftis hadn't been shy about stating his preference to follow his father's footsteps to Miami. But the Hurricanes haven't offered the 2019 Indiana defensive end yet, leaving an opening the Irish took advantage of by extending an offer earlier this month and securing a spot among Karlaftis' top tier of schools. "I think they'd be a serious contender in where I chose to go to school," the West Lafayette High School standout told ISD. "No matter who else offers me, they'd be a serious contender for me." Even if Miami offered? "Yes. Definitely." Karlaftis is supposed to be headed to Ohio State for a visit sometime this spring and may visit Indiana, but he knows for sure of one other visit this month and it's Notre Dame. "I'm going to be there for the spring game." OTHER SPRING GAME VISIT ADDITIONS: Notre Dame's visit list for the April 22nd Blue-Gold Game continues to grow. In addition to Karlaftis and a host of 2017 signees, which we reported earlier this month, 2018 Arizona cornerback Dominique Hampton tells us he'll be in South Bend for the spring game. "I just heard that the coaches like my film and that they would like for me to go out there and watch their spring game, so I'm going out there," the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder told ISD. "I'm interested in Notre Dame because of their rich tradition and they're one of the winningest college football programs in the country." Hampton, who has early offers from Arizona and Colorado, is looking forward to seeing what Notre Dame and the surrounding area are like and whether it's somewhere he could feel comfortable. 2018 Georgia defensive back Justin Birdsong will also be in town that weekend. "I go to Notre Dame on the 22nd and I'm visiting Ball State on the 23rd," the 5-foot-11, 165-pounder said. Birdsong said he has a top three of Central Michigan, Ball State and Notre Dame, he has offers from the first two. "With Central Michigan, Coach (Archie) Collins told me I'm definitely going to come in and play as long as I work hard and that my versatility opens up a lot of positions for me," Birdsong said. "Ball State, we had three players that left our school this past class to go to Ball State and he said he wants to keep the tradition going and get me up there with them." Birdsong says a Notre Dame offer "would mean a lot." "The top three is not in any specific order," he added, "I think Notre Dame would probably shoot to the top depending on how I feel up there and how much interest their coaches show me. I'm hoping they offer once I visit."2019 DE ENJOYS ND VISIT: 2019 Kentucky defensive end JJ Weaver has been on Notre Dame's radar for quite some time and the 6-foot-6, 240-pounder made his way to South Bend for an unofficial visit last week. "I liked the school and the academics," Weaver told Irish Sports Daily. "The coaching staff is wonderful. I liked the defensive line coach too. The campus is just wonderful. It kind of has an old school feel and I like it." The three-star prospect was joined by both of his parents and the visit impressed them as well. "My mom loved it too," laughed Weaver. "They loved the academics." Weaver didn't leave South Bend with an offer, but there is plenty of time for that. Defensive line coach Mike Elston told Weaver he wanted him to continue to get better and play smarter. Elston also let Weaver know where the staff saw him fitting in. "They want me to play a defensive end/outside linebacker," stated Weaver. "I feel I can play the position at the next level." The Louisville native will continue to take visits this spring to a few Midwest schools and an SEC program. "I am trying to get out to Cincinnati, Florida, and Michigan," said Weaver. TOP 2019 PROSPECTS HOPING TO HEAR MORE FROM ND: 2019 Florida running back Chez Mellusi admits he was shocked to receive offers from major programs like Miami and Michigan at such an early stage in the process. The Naples native also has offers from North Carolina, Virginia, Rutgers, Boston College and Arizona and is hoping the preliminary interest from the Irish will grow. "I've been interested in Notre Dame for a while," the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder said. The Irish invited Mellusi to a game this past fall, but he couldn't make it, although he has seen Notre Dame on TV and been impressed. "First, it's the academics at the school," he said. "That's all they're about up there basically. I remembered when I first a football game, I watched the quarterback for Notre Dame, (DeShone) Kizer, and I liked that. That was a big thing, but academics is a big reason I like the school." He said he would "absolutely" like to get to South Bend at some point. "If Notre Dame was to offer me soon, I would definitely want to come visit." 2019 Virginia defensive end/linebacker Brandon Smith is another prospect who has heard a bit from the Irish and is hoping to hear more soon. The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder already has offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke, but Notre Dame is a school he's had his eye on for years. "When he was young and I'm talking about elementary/middle school, his vision was to play football,Smith's father told ISD. "As parents, we've taken the steps to try to prepare him for where he's at now. Notre Dame was one of the schools he was always interested in seeing, maybe visiting or even one day maybe having an opportunity to play football there. "We never know what the future may hold, but we're definitely appreciative of them reaching out to him." It may be a while before it's determined whether Smith is a defensive end or an outside linebacker. "The schools we've talked to, like Clemson, Penn State, Duke, Virginia Tech, they have told Brandon, because he's only 15 years old, he could outgrow the linebacker position and be a defensive end," his father said. "At this point, they really don't know where he would fit. He's so young. He's so athletic for his size, he could play linebacker, but he could outgrow that position. That's why they say linebacker/defensive end or defensive end/linebacker. "His dream is to play major Division-I football. He understands that they may recruit you at one position, but may need you at a different position. He's the type of kid who wants to be on the field to help his team win games. If it requires him to play linebacker then that's what he's willing to do. If it's defensive end, then he's willing to play that position too. His IQ is one of the things they've been really excited about. At 15 years old, playing varsity football and being able to see things happen before they happen. You can kind of tell by the film how he's jumping plays, pointing and seeing where things are going before they actually happen. That comes from film study. He puts in on average between six and eight hours per week just breaking down film."BAUER READY FOR ND: 2018 Notre Dame linebacker commit Bo Bauer is set on with his decision and is beyond the red-carpet events of the recruiting process. The 6-foot-3, 217-pounder plans to return to South Bend for the Blue-Gold Game next weekend and if he could strap on the pads, the three-star prospect would do just that. "We're past seeing things now," laughed Bauer. "It's time to play." At last weekend's Opening Regional in Cleveland, Bauer was all over fellow 2018 linebacker Dallas Gant. The Cathedral Prep star was making sure the four-star prospect felt the love from Notre Dame as Gant plans to announce his decision on May 16th. "We were talking before the event," explained Bauer. "He's coming to the spring game, so I will have time to work on him then. We definitely want him." Another fun aspect for Bauer in last weekend's camp was the chance to go against his fellow Notre Dame commit, quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Both players will be the talk of Pennsylvania high school football next fall and Bauer has no love for his future teammate on the field. "I want to beat Phil," stated Bauer. "He's still a rival until the day we are both on campus. It's fun to compete against each other. I love him off the field, but on the field, no one is your friend." When it comes to his own recruitment, Bauer is focused on building a strong relationship with his future position coach, Clark Lea. "He gets super nerdy," Bauer laughed. "That's the word he uses when he starts talking about football. On my visit, we were just talking, but then when we start talking about football and he started asking me questions with my mom and dad in the room too. "I know he is going to be super intense and push everyone. I'm looking forward to playing for him. " MORE SCRIMMAGE NOTES: Earlier this week, we had a few notes on last Sunday's 60-play scrimmage. We have heard a little bit more coming out of the session. On Brandon Wimbush: "He looked good," stated a source. "Chip Long was hollering at him some, but he looked really good." RBs: "All the backs looked good," said the source. "That's a hell of a backfield. It might be one of the best in the country as far as all three of them. It's hard to get three backs carries, but they need to make the best of each one of their carries." Defense: "The defense looked the best I have seen the defense look," the source stated. "They were pretty fired up. They were showing some emotion and they had some spark. They were flying around and making some noise. If they aren't confident, then they are at least acting like it now." TONY, TONY, TONY: Last week in this space, we talked about the apparent breakout of second-year Notre Dame running back Tony Jones Jr. Based on his continued performance and head coach Brian Kelly's statements, it's time to remove the word "apparent." When asked what Jones needed to do to secure a spot in the rotation, Kelly responded, "Nothing." "Honestly, he is in it," the coach continued. "He is well-ensconced in that rotation. He is a guy who, if at any time, we wanted to call him a number one, we could call him a number one. He has done all the things to build that trust with us in terms of protections, catching the ball out of the backfield, he has earned that through his work this spring." Kelly confirmed what we were told by a source last week that the Irish's decision to hold Jones out last year had nothing to do with him not being ready to play. "You will see a lot of him this fall," Kelly said. We continue to hear about the importance of Jones' ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, which is something he is always working on. "Like a person works out in the weight room, he goes and runs routes and catches balls," one source said. We're told Clemson running backs coach Tony Elliott took note of Jones' ability out of the backfield a couple years ago when Elliott was at IMG Academy watching future Tiger linebacker Shaq Smith. "He was like, 'God, he's killing the number one linebacker in the country, which was Shaq, at the time,'" the source said. "That's a tribute to the fact that he works on running routes. He doesn't just run them, he doesn't curve them off. He runs precise routes and he can catch." IRISH HOOPS HAVE UCONN TRANSFER'S ATTENTION: Last week, we told you the 6-foot-10 UConn transfer Juwan Durham was one to watch. This week, he's one for Notre Dame to see as Irish assistants Rod Balanis and Ryan Humphrey are headed up to Connecticut to visit with Durham today. We caught up with Durham's former high school coach at Tampa Prep, Joe Fenlon, who said Durham had indeed expressed an interest on his part in Notre Dame. "I think it's a combination of great academics and good basketball," Fenlon said. "He's a good student. I think the opportunity to continue to play at a high level and prepare him for his future." It's still early in the transfer process with Durham having just announced his intentions last week and dozens of schools have reached out to him since. Now he has to find a way to get his list of options down to a manageable number, but heading into today's meeting, it's clear Notre Dame has his attention. Louisville also has his attention though and the Cardinals could have an advantage as Durham's former AAU coach, Jordan Fair, is on staff. "That and they were one of his final schools the first time," Fenlon said of the Cardinals before adding that Fair's presence is unlikely to be a deciding factor. "It's nice to have familiarity, but at the end of the day, he has to find a place he feels comfortable. A coach isn't going to be around you 24 hours a day, so you have to be comfortable with the guys you're going to surround yourself with. Familiarity might open the door, but it isn't necessarily going to get you walking through the door." Durham was considered an elite high school prospect before and even after suffering a pair of torn ACLs and missing his final season at Tampa Prep. Fenlon called him a potential "matchup nightmare" based on being a skilled shooter who and can put the ball on the floor from the perimeter while also possessing the ability to play on the block. "He just has a skillset that kids his size don't normally have," said Fenlon. "That's what makes him intriguing." In the coming days, look for Durham to begin putting together a list of schools to visit. It may not end up being a long list, so it'll be important Balanis and Humphrey find a way to get on it. Check out these highlights from Durham's junior season at Tampa Prep.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzdvDyMUDSE LUTHER READY TO SEE ND: 2018 New Jersey shooting guard Luther Muhammad expects to be in South Bend in a couple of weeks. The Hudson Catholic scorer is a high four-star prospect easily within the Top 100 players nationally and would represent a major steal for the Irish if they could land him. Notre Dame will have to beat out schools like St. John's, Syracuse and Seton Hall to do so, but the Irish have had his attention for a long time now and it doesn't seem to be fading. "I like their academic base and their alumni too," said Muhammad, who told ISD he will be at Notre Dame at the end of the month. "They have a great alumni base. "I just basically want to see what it's like being on campus." The Jersey City native has stayed in touch with Irish assistant coach Ryan Ayers. "He's just basically been telling me what he likes about me, a little bit about the campus and a bunch of other stuff," Muhammad said of Ayers. The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder doesn't have a timetable for a decision or any other visits scheduled just yet, so this visit could be Notre Dame's best shot at making a surge up his list.