Recruiting Week In Review

Written by Joe Bradshaw

Notre Dame’s recruiting has been both strong and balanced for the Class of 2018 with one exception, cornerback.  The Irish were shut out at the position in the Class of 2017 and currently sit at zero recruits in the ’18 class.  Obviously that needs to change.  One of their top targets at the position took an official visit to Notre Dame for the Georgia game and the Irish rolled out the red carpet for him.  And while cornerback is a position of critical need, they would definitely like to add additional wide receivers in this class as well. 

Last week, Irish Sports Daily reported on two official visitors for Georgia that would address both those needs.  What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily? 

Houston Griffith, CB, 6-1, 190, IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL is a major priority for Notre Dame this year.  The Irish’s need at the position is acute, bordering on desperate, but that’s hardly the only reason they’re so high on him.  It’s safe to say that they would be recruiting him hard in any year.  Recruiting services have him as a top 10 cornerback and top 50 player.  His obvious talent would be welcome in any season.  Griffith attended the Georgia game on an official visit and though he’s been on campus many times, Notre Dame still found a way to impress the four-star prospect.

“First I went to see their walkthrough and then I went to their pep rally and then had dinner with the coaches,” he shared.  “The next day I got a whole new tour.  Even though I’d seen everything on campus, they showed me the new Duncan Center, the new press box.”

Todd Lyght, the Irish defensive backs coach and other coaches, have been recruiting Griffith hard since his freshman season, then at Mount Carmel High School.  These coaches, especially Lyght, have formed a very strong bond with him. 

“They really told me that I’m the top DB priority in the class right now,” he said.  “So they made it a priority I had a good time and made sure it felt like I was at home.”

Griffith was impressed by the atmosphere in Notre Dame Stadium for the game. 

“I thought it was a really good atmosphere,” he said.  “Notre Dame’s fans were rowdy and so were Georgia’s fans.  It was really a good atmosphere between both schools.  I really had a good time.  The game itself was really exciting because it was such a close game.”

After last year’s defensive debacle, Griffith was very pleased to see the changes that new defensive coordinator Mike Elko has brought to the Irish.

“I think the defense played really good, better than they were last season,” he said.  “You can see what the new DC is doing with the defensive players, so I’m sure they’re just going to get better and better throughout the season.”

Griffith continued. 

“It means a lot to see they’re taking new steps into a new direction,” he said.  “It means a lot seeing a lot of the freshmen I know on the team getting a chance to play and also seeing Julian (Love) out there making plays as well.”

Griffith knows several of the Irish players, including former teammate at IMG Robert Hainsey and Chicago natives Isaiah Robertson and Julian Love. 

“Isaiah Robertson was my host, so I spent a lot of time with him,” Griffith explained.  “I really vibed with a lot of players on the team.  They all just kept it real with me and told me why they chose to go to Notre Dame and why it’s such a great opportunity to be there even though it’s not the regular college experience.  They told me they really enjoyed being there and you don’t get the experience anywhere else because you’re going to get a good education from there and play big time college football every week.”

Griffith made it clear that Notre Dame helped themselves as a result of his visit.

Irish Sports Daily

Geordon Porter, WR, 6-2, 175, Etiwanda High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA also took his official visit to Notre Dame for the Georgia game.  Like Griffith, Porter came to his visit with the Irish already holding them in very high esteem.  In fact, Porter wasn’t sure that there was anything more Notre Dame could do to elevate themselves.  He was wrong. 

“Everything went really well, really well,” he said of his Notre Dame visit.  “When we got there, there was a whole bunch of fans there in front of the gate hours before the game.  They’re diehard fans.  What really amazed me was how fans knew who I was.”

Though he had difficulty believing it, things became even more intense once Porte entered the stadium.

“When we were in the stadium for the warm-ups on the field, the fans were already going crazy and the game hadn’t even started yet,” he reported.  “All of the different chants Notre Dame had; first down chants, kickoff chants, everything.” 

Porter was also impressed by all the improvements on campus. 

“The facilities are great, the locker rooms, all the traditional stuff,” he said.  “The new press boxes, those are nice.” 

Porter got a chance to meet and visit with other recruits, including wide receivers Micah Jones and Chase Cota.  He felt very comfortable with them, the kind of guys with whom he could really bond. After the game, the three-star recruit got to see more of the campus and meet with the coaches.

“It was just great to see the whole school touring,” he shared.  “It’s a great academic school.  When you go to Notre Dame, you can be able to go to the NFL and get a good education, so it’s a win-win situation.” 

Porter also had “great” meetings with the coaching staff.

“I talked to Brian Kelly, he’s a great guy,” Porter said.  “He said I would fit very well in the offense and that they needed some speed at the X position.  I talked to Delvaughn Alexander, the receivers’ coach.  He just emphasized always going hard, never stopping or slowing down.  All of the coaches were great.” 

Porter continues to pare his list of schools.  So far he has visited UCLA for the Texas A&M game and Notre Dame.  He still has visits scheduled to Arizona State and Utah before he makes a decision.  The Irish have given him much to consider moving forward.

“I was already high on them, but now that I’ve seen the whole city around South Bend and the whole school, my interest has gone way up.” 

These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.