Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
Offensive coordinators love to have the personnel to force opponents into a “pick your poison” scenario. That means that in order to stop the run, teams have to go man on receivers opening them up to big plays through the air. In order to stop the passing game, they have to drop so many into coverage that they sacrifice the ability to stop the run. The goal of Notre Dame’s offensive recruiting is to stockpile the players to force exactly the above situations. The Irish believe they have a very good start towards achieving that with the players they currently have on campus but they are constantly looking for more. Last week Irish Sports Daily reported on two Class of 2021 playmakers at wide receiver that would help secure at least one part of the scenario. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
At this point Jayden Thomas, WR, 6-2, 200, Pace Academy, Atlanta, GA should not be surprised at being offered a football scholarship. So far, the best of the best have thrown their hats in the ring. Included in this group are Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, South Carolina and a host of others. Still, when the Irish stepped up to the plate on the weekend of the Virginia Tech game, he was obviously thrilled.
“It was crazy in the moment because it’s Notre Dame,” the four-star receiver said. “You see them playing on TV every Saturday and knowing I could potentially go to school there is pretty cool.”
Notre Dame didn’t just impress him with the scholarship offer.
“The school was just beautiful,” he shared. “When I first got there I had my photoshoot which was pretty cool. Then I got to see the indoor facility. I also got to see the locker room. The stadium was beautiful and I also got a tour of the sports facility which was pretty cool.”
Thomas used the word “loved” to describe his feeling about the gameday atmosphere inside Notre Dame Stadium.
“The fans were going crazy,” he explained. “I was in front of the student section and they were going crazy the whole game, which was pretty cool.”
As much as Thomas liked watching the Irish pull out the nail biter against Virginia Tech, he seemed to enjoy meeting with Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly even more.
“He just told me he checked my film and said my academics were there because where I go to school, Pace,” he remembered. “He said he needs more smart guys like me, which was pretty cool.”
Thomas plans to keep in touch with the Irish and is already planning on taking a visit again next year.
“I definitely want to get back up there in the summer to get the full rundown of the school,” he said.
Thomas visited Tuscaloosa where he saw Alabama fall to LSU. He’s also planning a trip to Columbus to see Ohio State and Penn State. Wherever he chooses to go, he knows what he’s looking for in a college environment.
“Definitely the family vibe of the school and, honestly, the academics,” he said. “That plays a really important part in my life. And then I want to go to a school that is potentially competing for a national championship every single year.”
Reece Jesse, WR, 6-3, 185, Hopkinsville High School, Hopkinsville, KY also visited South Bend for the Virginia Tech game. This was actually his second time to see the Irish play this season though the first time was as a guest of the Louisville Cardinals.
“Everything went pretty good,” he said of his trip to Notre Dame. “It was a fun trip. I got to see the warm-ups, the indoor facility and meet with some of the coaches.”
Jesse described the indoor facility as “pretty nice.” He was even more complimentary of Notre Dame wide receivers coach Del Alexander.
“He was asking me how my season was going and saying to keep fighting and keep getting better,” Jesse said. “He seems like a cool guy I could learn a lot from.”
Though he doesn’t have any visits planned at the moment, Jesse does plan to continue to hit the road to see other schools. He’s not sure what comes next for him and Notre Dame but does expect to continue to communicate with them.
“To be honest I don’t really know yet but we’re going to be talking a lot more soon and see what happens from there.”
These two summaries are just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.