Friday Notre Dame Recruiting Notebook
The year-plus long dead period, instituted at the start of the COVID-19 crisis last March, is finally set to be lifted on Tuesday.
The Irish have one confirmed elite visitor for the first day in 2023 Missouri defensive lineman Chandavian Bradley, who has had that date set for a month now. The Irish were among the earliest offers for Bradley, who has since seen that list swell to include schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arizona State and Kentucky among others.
Bradley is especially excited about finally getting to meet defensive line coach Mike Elston in person after forming such a strong bond virtually over the last few months.
Look for Bradley to hit Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia and Northwestern in the coming weeks as well.
Bradley’s camp is well aware of what Notre Dame can offer on and off the field and the Irish should be considered serious, serious contenders in this race.
EARLY SCRATCH: As late as Wednesday, 2023 Georgia cornerback Kayin Lee was set to be in South Bend on Day 1 as well. But Lee’s camp informed ISD on Thursday night that the trip will need to be pushed back since Lee’s father was unable to get the time off of work.
We do expect the trip to be rescheduled and we do view Lee’s interest in the Irish as legit.
One source close to Lee told ISD that “Notre Dame speaks for itself.”
There are some Georgia fans within his circle, but that doesn’t seem like it’ll be a major factor in the decision. Lee and his father were looking forward to seeing what Notre Dame has to offer and the expectations were high.
JAXON HOWARD TOUR WILL MAKE EARLY ND STOP: It’s hard to imagine a prospect visiting more schools in the next month than 2023 Minnesota tight end Jaxon Howard, who is set to see more than two dozen colleges in June before heading back out again in July.
Howard will be in South Bend for half a day next Saturday between visits at Michigan State and Northwestern.
A sharp young man, Howard has already formed a serious bond with Irish tight ends coach John McNulty.
“I think the best thing is for me to actually get a good feel for the coaching staff,” Howard said of the stop in South Bend. “I know me and Coach McNulty have spoken quite a lot and I'm really just ready to get down there and see all the great things about the culture.”
Of McNulty, Howard said, “Man, he brings a lot of energy to the table especially when it comes to the tight end.
“You can just tell he's extremely excited when it comes to all of his players in the meeting room. He just speaks so highly of his tight ends and how they play in the run game and passing game as well.”
INVASION LIST CONTINUES TO GROW: The Irish Invasion Showcase Camp may not be as big-time as in years past simply because of the logistics of a truncated visit calendar, but there are already a few targets on the list worth watching, including 2023 safety Jack Luttrell and 2024 wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who both have Notre Dame offers already, along with 2023 two-way lineman AJ Salley, who has multiple Power 5 offers.
The June 6th list will continue to grow over the next week.
In addition to the visitors who have been on the list for weeks, the Irish will be hosting Walker Lyons, a top 2023 tight end from California, who already has offers from schools like USC, Oregon, Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma among others. Given his offer sheet, we’d be pretty surprised if he didn’t add to it by the time he leaves South Bend. He plans to see Ohio State and Michigan while he’s in the Midwest.
Lyons also has an interesting connection to the Irish.
“One of my very good family friends is Ian Book,” Lyons told ISD. “I'm making the trip out there really because of him and what he's told me about Notre Dame.
“He loves everything about it. He loves the feel of the campus, the coaches. I was like, 'I trust his judgment, so I might as well make the trip.'”
He also told ISD that an offer from the Irish would “mean a lot.”
“Especially playing tight end and what Notre Dame's history has been with the tight end position, so it'd mean a lot and I'd be super excited for it,” he said.
Lyons won’t be the only 2023 tight end worth watching next week.
Texas’ Hawkins Polley has offers from Baylor, Vanderbilt and SMU already and will be looking to put himself in position to add the Irish to that list next week.
“I just want to get a feel for like the town atmosphere and just want to see the campus and see if I could see myself being there in two to three years,” Polley told ISD.
“I'm hoping to introduce myself at the camp and get to know them and start building a relationship with the coaching staff there.”
2023 Nebraska offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula has a pair of early offers from Iowa State and Kansas State. Irish assistants Jeff Quinn and Tommy Rees reached out to Gottula about coming down for the camp.
“I'm hoping to show my athleticism and just technique and things that I've been working on and show that I've been improved since my sophomore year film that they've seen,” the 6-foot-6, 270-pounder told ISD.
2023 Illinois athlete Kaden Feagin, who has offers from Illinois and Rutgers, has confirmed his plans to attend. And 2023 Michigan offensive lineman Dylan Senda, whose offer sheet currently features schools like Michigan State, Maryland, Miami, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Syracuse and Kentucky among others, has done the same.
We also have reason to believe at least one 2023 prospect currently committed to another school will be in town. This isn’t intended to be some sort of mystery recruit situation, but out of respect for the prospect who hasn’t publicly announced the visit plans, we’re not ready to report his name. While he seems locked in with his current commitment, it’s hard to imagine the trip to South Bend is simply a sightseeing tour.