Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
With a new defensive coordinator and special teams coach hired, Notre Dame has taken two huge steps towards making a late push to finish strong with the 2017 recruiting class. There have been some defections but that was to be expected after finishing 4-8 and experiencing significant coaching turnover.
However, the coaches that have been added to the staff, defensive coordinator Mike Elko and special teams coach Brian Polian have reputations as good recruiters and will get an opportunity to demonstrate that in the final weeks before Signing Day. In fact Elko has already introduced a new name for the Irish into the recruiting mix and is said to already be very active on the recruiting trail. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Jason Pinnock, DB, 6-1, 190, Windsor High School, Windsor, CT recently heard from new Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko. Pinnock said he had a very positive conversation with him and was waiting for Notre Dame to take the next step.
“Coach Elko said he loves my tape and wants to offer me,” Pinnock shared. “He just needs to see how many more offers they have to give out before making it official. He said he’s looking for some really good defensive backs and after watching my film he was very impressed.”
Pinnock’s senior numbers seem to belie his two-star ranking. He racked up 46 tackles and seven interceptions, four of which he returned for touchdowns. Even though he’s verbally committed to Boston College, he’s planning on taking visits as Signing Day approaches.
“I have my officials scheduled to Pitt, Boston College and I had Syracuse scheduled for January 27-29, but they have yet to offer,” he explained. “I told Coach Elko I would replace Syracuse with Notre Dame.”
“I am definitely looking for a fit like Notre Dame, Boston College and Pitt, because you can not only play big time football, but you’re getting a great education.”
Connecticut native CJ Holmes is already committed to the Irish in this class and apparently would like to be joined by a fellow resident of The Constitution State.
“He literally just sent me a message,” Pinnock told ISD. “I was just talking to him about the school and what he likes about it.”
Irish Sports Daily
Even though Notre Dame has extended Oliver Martin a scholarship offer, he was also a later name to emerge for the Irish or at least for their fans. Martin, WR, 6-1, 190, Iowa City West High School, Iowa City, IA has narrowed his list to five schools, Notre Dame, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan and Oregon. Despite shrinking his list, he’s still unsure when he will make his final decision. About the only thing Martin will say is when he won’t make his decision public.
“I’m not planning on it,” Martin said of announcing at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. “Everyone asks me and I never really have a definite answer, so I just kind of say something.”
As of right now, Martin thinks he could have a decision around a week after the game, but since he still has visits scheduled after that time, the date clearly appears up in the air. Martin visited Notre Dame for the Duke game and came away impressed with what the Irish have to offer.
“I felt really comfortable with the coaching staff and I liked the environment on my official visit up there,” he said. “They have a school with tradition at the top of the country. Their academics are really, really good, so that’s also attractive. They have a playing style that I felt like I could fit into. I really liked the campus and I liked the guys I was around when I was there, the kids on the team right now.”
Martin was being recruited by Notre Dame Associate Head Coach Mike Denbrock before he left to take the offensive coordinator positon at Cincinnati. Martin insists that won’t be a factor in his final decision.
“I know they’re going to bring in someone good since they’re one of the top-tiered programs, so that doesn’t worry me too much even though I did like Denbrock a lot.”
The appeal of the Iowa Hawkeyes to Martin is obvious. He grew up in their backyard.
“It’s the hometown school with Iowa City,” he shared. “That’s one aspect I like a lot about it, my friends will be there. At the same time, they’re a stable program, they’re good year in, year out. I just like the situation there.”
Martin also had good things to say about Michigan State.
“At Michigan State, I really like their coaches, especially their receivers coach,” he said. “He seemed like a good teacher I could develop in their program with.”
Martin is enjoying himself so far at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl practices. He sees the game not only as an honor but also as a way to improve.
“We just got in our first two practices with mainly install,” he said. “We did some drills, some one-on-ones, some seven-on-seven, it was a good day. You’re going against the best competition in the country, so you can get better from that obviously. It’s the All-American Bowl, it’s supposed to be a super fun experience and then there’s the game which is a huge honor.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.