ISD Intel (5/19)
It's been quite obvious since his arrival that Notre Dame's new defensive coordinator is an eager recruiter who likes to get after it on the trail. We had a conversation with a high school coach who recently spent time with Mike Elko during the May Evaluation Period and he confirmed that not only is Elko an energetic recruiter, but one who is extremely knowledgeable about the process. "That was the best conversation I've had with anybody there," the coach told us. "He just gets it, he totally gets it in terms of recruiting." This coach told us Elko understands how valuable his time is on the road and that he's cognizant of where he needs to be in order to put Notre Dame in the best position to land standout talent. "He had a whole vision on recruiting there that makes sense," the coach said. Elko displayed an excitement about bringing in the right prospects to enhance the Irish's defensive roster, but he knows that requires a true sense of urgency in both identifying and recruiting targets. "He knows he can't roll in after Stanford and others have been on them for a year," the coach said. "I liked his approach." Elko, who played linebacker at the University of Pennsylvania and came from Wake Forest, understands the pool of kids he's searching through isn't as deep as some other places and realizes how important it is to maximize the time he has on the road to chase as many kids who check the necessary boxes as possible. "He knows you have to nail it and nail it early." LEA MAKES CONNECTIONS: Few Notre Dame targets know new linebackers coach Clark Lea as well as 2019 North Carolina wide receiver Nolan Groulx. The 5-foot-11, 187-pounder from Davidson, N.C., has early offers from schools like North Carolina State, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin among others. He's recently started receiving contact from Notre Dame via Lea. "Me and Coach Lea actually have a connection," Groulx explained. "When I was in ninth grade, I was getting recruited pretty heavy by Wake Forest. He ended up offering me because he was the guy for our area." The William Amos Hough High School standout was excited to hear Lea was still going to be his area recruiter, now for the Irish. "We know each other's families pretty well," he explained. "He came down and I've talked to him for a while. We just keep it real with each other, so it's a good relationship." Groulx described Lea both as a recruiter and a person as "awesome." "He cares about his family a ton, you can see it," Groulx said. "He's got a great family. He has two kids, a boy and a girl, who he was telling me about the other day. He's a hard worker and he'll bring in the kids you need." Groulx also had good feedback about Lea as a coach based on the experience of one of his buddies. "He's a great linebacker coach too," he said. "One of my friends went to Wake to play linebacker and the reason he was committed to Wake was because of him. He's a great coach." STILL A CHANCE AT GETTING TWO ST. BROWNS TOGETHER: Any shot of seeing three St. Brown brothers trot out on the field at Notre Dame Stadium as part of a three-wide receiver set for the Irish ended when Osiris St. Brown committed to Stanford last recruiting cycle. But with Equanimeous St. Brown set to enter his junior season with the Irish this fall and Notre Dame still a true contender for his youngest brother, Amon-Ra St. Brown, the chance to have a pair of St. Browns in the same huddle is still alive. In order for that to become a reality though, it'll be necessary for the Irish to convince Amon-Ra he'd have the opportunity to get on the field as a freshman. "He wants to make sure wherever he goes that he has a fair shot of playing as a freshman," one source said. It could be challenging for the Irish to convince him he'd have that opportunity to play right away since his older brother didn't see extensive playing time his first year in South Bend, but it's certainly possible. In fact, the same source said Notre Dame and not surprisingly Stanford have done the best job recruiting the brothers over the years. Amon-Ra, who may have been the best performer at last summer's Irish Invasion, has shied away from naming any official list of top schools yet, telling those close to him that he doesn't want to make a mistake. There's been a lot of chatter about St. Brown making it out to see multiple schools in the Midwest this summer and that may end up happening, but we wouldn't be shocked if it doesn't. "He doesn't like traveling," the source acknowledged. But the source was adamant that that wouldn't be something that would prevent St. Brown from leaving the West Coast, saying instead that St. Brown doesn't see a huge need in getting back to places he's already visited. "He doesn't care," we were told. "If he's seen it, he doesn't want to keep looking at it." Meanwhile, there's excitement surrounding Equanimeous' junior season after last year's performance and with the addition of some of the new offensive staff members. There seems to be a confidence in both new offensive coordinator Chip Long and wide receivers coach Del Alexander and a belief that they'll do their best to put Equanimeous in a position or more accurately, positions to succeed. That goal was obvious from the very first conversation Equanimeous had with Long and there's a trust that it will be backed up this fall. "No better scenario than having a guy like that calling your plays," one source said. IRISH TO TAKE SHOT AT JAMISON: As we mentioned here last week, both defensive backs coach Todd Lyght and defensive coordinator Mike Elko have been to Houston in recent weeks to check on Lamar High School standout defensive backs D'Shawn Jamison and Anthony Cook. Both players should be considered long shots, but shots worth taking. Jamison, who many consider a strong lean to Texas, recently told a source of ours that Notre Dame does have his attention. "They were saying I'm one of their top prospects," Jamison said of the Irish. "They like my game. I'm very explosive and I can play anywhere I want to." Jamison also told our source he's honored to have a school like Notre Dame after him. "It's Notre Dame," he laughed. "That's a big school. Their academics are big, so you're going to get your education." Jamison is expected to have a top five soon before making a decision by the end of the summer, but would like to get to South Bend beforehand. It sounds like the plan is for him to talk with the Notre Dame staff within the next couple weeks to try to set something up. ADDITIONAL INVADERS: As expected the list of prospects planning to attend next month's Irish Invasion camp continues to grow. This week, we've added four new prospects to our Irish Invasion list, including a pair of brothers. Avery Young is a Pennsylvania defensive back in the Class of 2018 and his brother, Aaron Young, is a 2019 running back. The brothers have had some communication with Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Mike Elston. Both brothers have eight offers from schools like Rutgers, Syracuse, Maryland and Nebraska. Elston has hinted to the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Avery that there's a good chance he could land an offer from the Irish at the camp. The Youngs, who have an older brother playing for Old Dominion, have never really hit the national or regional camp circuit, so Notre Dame is interested in seeing just how fast they are. An offer from Notre Dame would make the Irish immediate contenders for either or both. Another 2019 running back plans to be in attendance in Ohio's John Branham . The 5-foot-9, 205-pounder has been clocked at sub-4.5, so he has a good blend of speed and the ability to run between the tackles. He has early offers from Cincinnati and Ohio. While he's obviously hoping to add to that list, he's more interested in forming good relationships with college coaches than just collecting scholarship offers. He's also had contact with schools like Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Indiana. He's expected to camp at Pitt and Ohio State this summer as well. 2018 Indianapolis cornerback Reese Taylor tells us he'll also be at the camp. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder comes from the same Ben Davis program that produced current Irish linebacker Asmar Bilal. Taylor already has double-digit offers and currently has a top three of Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. He's confident he'll be able to show the Irish staff his athleticism and skills. Notre Dame would likely jump into his top three with an offer. ADEMILOLAS CONTINUE TO WORK: When Jayson and Justin Ademilola committed to Notre Dame last summer, we heard about how high their ceilings were from their personal coach at the Lab Football Academy, Peter Kafaf. The twin defensive linemen each showed dramatic improvement during their junior years at St. Peter's Prep and that trajectory has continued this offseason. "That's kind of what I thought might happen," Kafaf told us. "That's what's happened with a lot of kids I've trained. It takes a while for the maturity to sink in and then to be able to understand and execute what we're asking them to do." Kafaf is quick to give the Ademilolas the credit for their progress. "They've really focused in and matured, not that they were immature, but they've matured just in the growing process," he said. "They've worked hard at it. Stuff doesn't come naturally. Like I say, I don't make them better, they make them better. I just show them how." Kafaf said that "Jayson just put on a show at the Nike qualifiers," which earned him an invite to The Opening in Oregon this summer. "He really put it all together," Kafaf continued. "He did his homework. He wanted it. That's what makes great players great. It's not their coaches, it's them having the self-motivation. Jayson and Justin both have that and they have each other, so they end up pushing each other. You have some kids who are really going to make some noise, particularly Jayson because of his body type for the position he's playing. He's learning how to use it and learning how to play with leverage and playing with his eyes really. He's a thinking man's defensive lineman." Because he's a defensive end, things may be a bit more challenging for Justin than Jayson, who is a defensive tackle. "I think Justin has a tougher position because he's really going to have to figure things out being a 6-foot-2 edge player," Kafaf said. "Typically, your edge players are 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, 6-foot-3 at the minimum because of the length of their hands. It becomes a hand battle with those offensive tackles. Justin doesn't have that, so he needs to play with different sort of leverage and different sort of intelligence. "It just may take him a little bit longer and it may take me a little bit longer to teach him how to develop and play with that. He certainly can, but it's a different skillset than what Jayson has. They're in two completely different neighborhoods." DMV TRAIN CONTINUES FOR BREY: Who says you can't go home?Maryland native Mike Brey keeps going back and the Notre Dame head basketball coach's home region has been a fertile one for the Irish. After getting Jerian Grant from Brey's alma mater, DeMatha Catholic, a few years back, Notre Dame's only 2017 signee also came from the Maryland powerhouse in guard D.J. Harvey. Earlier this week, the Irish landed their first commitment in the Class of 2018 in the form of Washington, D.C. point guard Prentiss Hubb, who took an official visit to South Bend a few weeks back. Prior to that trip, the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from Gonzaga College High School narrowed his list to Notre Dame, Maryland, Villanova and Virginia. On Wednesday, he narrowed it to one. Following the news, we heard from a source close to the situation, who explained why the commitment is such a big one for the Irish. First of all, point guard is a position of need for Notre Dame, which will be left with just TJ Gibbs once Matt Farrell is gone after the 2017-18 season. Second, Hubb's leadership in helping his squad to the "triple crown" last season winning the Alhambra Catholic Invitation, the DC State Championship and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Tournament in what the source described as the "best league in America." Grant's name did come up, but the source was careful not to say Hubb is going to be the next Jerian Grant. "Hubb is a little bit like a left-handed Jerian," we were told. "Love his feel for the game and he gets his hands on a lot of balls defensively." And it's worth noting the high-four-star prospect is ranked higher and had a better scholarship list than Grant did coming out of high school. So not only is Hubb an important get for the Irish on the court, his pledge is a clear indicator that Notre Dame's success since joining the ACC has propelled the program up a rung when it comes to the talent it can chase.
