Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
Over the last three football seasons, Notre Dame has gone 31-6 counting bowl games and with one yet to play this season. That kind of on-field success attracts recruits and the Class of 2020 is proof of that. The Irish class is ranked tenth in the nation with the second smallest class in the top ten team rankings. Only Georgia in the top ten currently has fewer recruits. As strong as the Class of 2020 is looking, the Class of 2021 is looking even better. The Irish currently have seven verbal commitments all of whom are four-star prospects. Their class is currently ranked number one by 247 Sports. And the Notre Dame coaches continue to expand their 2021 recruiting. Irish Sports Daily reported on two 2021 players that made the trip to South Bend for the Boston College game. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Devin Kirkwood, ATH, 6-3, 175, Junipero Serra High School, Gardena, CA made the long plane ride from California to watch Notre Dame play their traditional rival, Boston College. The California standout was not disappointed and didn’t come away empty-handed.
“I got called into the office with the head coach before the game and he told me that he’d like to offer me,” Kirkwood recalled. “I was really happy and extremely blessed.”
Kirkwood already has offers from nearby USC, Utah, Oregon State and others but the Notre Dame offer clearly thrilled him.
“What made me so happy about this offer was I like how everybody on this team comes together,” he explained. “I like how they play as one unit and how they treat their players with so much love. They showed so much love to me when I was out there and they actually sat down to get to know me on a personal level.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly’s message resonated with Kirkwood.
“He said he loves my work ethic,” Kirkwood shared. “He likes how I’m good on and off the field, in the classroom. He saw that I had a whole bunch of potential that they could use on the team and that they seem me helping them win a whole bunch of games.”
Kirkwood continued.
“When you are able to have a meaningful conversation with an amazing person like Coach Kelly, it’s like Christmas to any scholar-athlete. His wisdom and encouragement confirmed my hopes and dreams.”
Kirkwood could potentially play on either side of the ball at the next level so he had his eyes on both offense and defense in Notre Dame’s win.
“That game was really amazing,” he said. “I like how even their offense started off not too good, they battled back and scored a whole bunch of points. I like how their defense played good the whole game.”
Kirkwood planned to get back to training when he got home but already had in mind a return trip to South Bend.
“I don’t know when right now, but I know I will try to come back out here,” he said. “Just be able to see more of the campus, more of how the students get along with the players and spend more time with the players to get to know them more.”
He came away with a very positive view of Notre Dame.
“I appreciate the love from the coaches and the athletes,” he shared. “I am excited to know that the coaching staff believes in my potential as a scholar-athlete.”
Jaylin Noel, WR, 5-10, 170, Park Hill High School, Kansas City, MO also trekked to South Bend for the Boston College game. It was his first visit to Notre Dame and he came away pleased.
“I got to see all of the facilities, they were really nice,” he said. “I had a photoshoot with the uniform and got to talk to some of the coaches. I had a good meal there, the meal was really good.”
The coaches Noel spoke with were Notre Dame Wide Receiver Coach Del Alexander and Quarterback Coach Tommy Rees. They both weighed in on what they saw in him.
“They were impressed with my film and liked how I progressed throughout the season on little things,” Noel remembered. “They just wanted me to know that they’d be down during the offseason to get to know me a little bit more. Like I said, they were interested in how my season went and wanted to know how I did, so they seemed really cool and involved.”
Noel enjoyed watching the Irish pull away to a blowout win over BC.
“The game was great,” he said. “We sat right next to the band. It was pretty cool. They had a lot of little chants, different ones for every score or big play. The atmosphere was great and the fans were great.”
Noel got the opportunity to see the Notre Dame offense up close and in person.
“I definitely look at how the offense is run and see how I would fit into the offense on any visit; look at the offense and make sure if I was to pick a school like that that it would fit me,” he explained. “They ran it, but sometimes they had big plays where guys had to step up, so it was nice.”
Noel doesn’t have any other visits scheduled right now but does plan on staying in touch with the Irish coaches. He anticipates seeing them relatively soon.
“They said they’d try to come down to my school…I don’t have any visits planned again or anything like that, but they do plan on coming down to the school and seeing me in my workouts during the spring.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.