Irish After 2021 D-Line Teammates From Georgia

Notre Dame sent out a flurry of defensive line offers last month and found a pair of 2021 offer-worthy prospects at the same high school in Georgia.

Douglas County High School teammates Joshua Robinson‍ and Jonathan Jefferson‍ (pictured above) both added the Irish to lengthy offer sheets during the Contact Period.

Douglas County head coach Johnny White was impressed with the presentation of Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston, who visited the school to deliver the offers.

“I thought he did a great job,” said White. “He talked about the advantages of playing at Notre Dame and how the kids need to fall in love with the program they choose.”

As for Robinson, White is convinced his best days are ahead of him.

“Not only is his special now, I think his upside is unbelievable,” White told ISD. “He’s 6-4, 230 pounds, great first step, great bend. I think the sky is going to be the limit for this guy.

“He’s a quiet leader. He doesn’t say a whole bunch, but when it’s time to get to work, he makes sure everybody gets to work.”

Robinson already had offers from schools like Florida, Florida State, Boston College, Duke, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pitt, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.

White said Robinson “was excited, very excited” about the offer from the Irish.

“Just the brand of Notre Dame alone,” the coach continued. “He’s a big academic kid. He’s got a 3.8 GPA, so academics mean a lot to him.

“He’s trying to find the schools that he’s very interested in. But like I said before, for him and his mom, if it’s an academic school, they’re going to get the first shot. He’s been to Stanford, Duke, Georgia Tech, schools like that. So with Notre Dame in the mix, I’m sure his mom will make sure he gets there real soon.”

White called Jefferson a “freakish athlete.”

“He’s 6-4, 265,” the coach said. “He plays guard in basketball. He plays wide receiver. If you look on his highlights, you’re going to see a lot of him playing receiver. He’s a freakish type of athlete. Once he makes the move to inside at defensive tackle, I think he’s going to be unblockable.”

White said there is “no question” the skilled big man will be an interior lineman in college.

“He’s 265 now, so with another year in the weight room and everything we’re doing, the weight is just going to come on,” he said. “He’s just 16.

“Like I said, to me, he’s always been a freakish-type athlete. He’s a three-year starter for us. He started as a freshman.”

Jefferson’s DNA is “strong,” according to his coach, who noted that his father, Derrick Jefferson was a former professional boxer.

“His dad fought (Wladimir) Klitschko for the WBO heavyweight belt in 2001,” said White.

White described Jefferson as “the life of the party.”

“He likes to have a good time,” said the coach. “If he sees somebody down and has to talk to them and get them going, he will. He understands he has eyes on him and wants to do everything in his power to live up to what people think about him.”

White said Jefferson was “real hyped” about the Notre Dame offer while noting that his father still lives in Michigan, so there is a connection to the Midwest.

And like Robinson, the coach expects Jefferson to get to South Bend at some point.

“No question,” he said. “I know he’s going to get out there for a visit.”

White thinks many of his players in the Class of 2021 will try to take visits together over the next several months and announce together in early-August.