Notre Dame Keeping In Touch With 2022 RB CJ Stokes

Notre Dame’s running back board for the Class of 2022 is pretty well-defined right now with JD Price‍ in the fold as a commit and Nicholas Singleton‍, Dallan Hayden‍ and Gavin Sawchuk‍ as top uncommitted prospects.

But Irish running backs coach Lance Taylor is also keeping tabs on other backs in the class, including South Carolina’s Capers Stokes III‍.

The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Stokes has been in contact with the Notre Dame recruiting office in recent weeks.

“I started talking to Coach Taylor and he watched my film, really loved everything and asked me to do a workout for him,” Stokes explained. “He sent me some routes, so I did those and that's where it started.”

Stokes has offers from schools like Michigan, South Carolina, Duke and Louisville among others already and was fired up to receive interest from the Irish.

“I was excited, big-time school,” he said. “I was watching a lot of football this year, obviously, and they were one of the teams I watched. They're a great team and I know how good they are academically, so it would be a very good opportunity to have.”

The Hammond School standout has also been impressed with Taylor.

“He's a great guy,” Stokes said. “He coached in the NFL a long time. He has a very good track record. Their running backs at Notre Dame right now are doing very well. He's a great coach and a great guy and I look forward to building a relationship.”

Taylor was upfront about the Irish’s running backs board.

“Right now, they're waiting on a guy to make his decision,” said Stokes. “I think it's one person or two people they said they're waiting on to make their decisions and after he does, if he doesn't go, he said, I'm next in line for an offer. So that's exciting.

“He said he likes how fast I play. I make the cut and go. I'm really fast getting in and out of my cuts and stuff like that. I can come out of the backfield and do stuff like that. He said he wants all-around backs. And then he said I model that prototype. He said he really loved that I play really fast.”

Stokes said that offer would “mean a lot.”

“It'd be great academically and great athletically,” he said. “It'd definitely be one of my top schools.”

Stokes doesn’t have a firm list of favorites just yet.

“I haven't really cut down my list, but the schools that are talking to me the most right now are Vandy, South Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota, Yale, schools like that,” he said.

Stokes doesn’t have a timeline for a decision, but does know what he’s looking for in a college.

“First, I'm looking for a good program. I'm trying to get my doctorate in physical therapy in college. So, that's going to be big for me and Notre Dame has that. That, a good culture and basically just a place I could feel at home.

“I want to be comfortable with the decision I make and wherever I'm comfortable, that's the decision I'm going to make. I'm just looking for a good culture, good academics and a football program that is trying to win.”