Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” Tom Hanks, in A League of Their Own, succinctly summed up the essence of true competition. Notre Dame has always followed that rule when it came to scheduling college football games, but, unfortunately, has not always take the same approach in recruiting. Under Head Coach Brian Kelly there have been elements of that philosophy but over the last two recruiting cycles, the Irish coaching staff seems to have fully embraced it. They noticeably upper their intensity with the Class of 2018 and subsequently landed a very good class. Early returns indicate that they are once again reaching even higher, hoping to go beyond very good to great. Last week Irish Sports Daily reported on two prospects that are highly rated, regarded and recruited. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Chez Mellusi, RB, 6-1, 200, Naples High School, Naples, FL, visited South Bend last fall for the Notre Dame-Georgia game and is looking to return. He’s not sure whether that will happen this spring but is certain that it will this fall.
“I’m still trying to figure out if I’m going to be able to go up there this spring,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I already have a date scheduled to go up in the fall for my official, but I haven’t had anything to do with spring yet.”
If Mellusi doesn’t make it to Notre Dame this spring, he hopes to use his official visit to cover the one area he felt was lacking on his last one.
“I didn’t really get a chance to talk to the players as much because it was a game day with Georgia,” he remembered. “I’d like to talk to the players a little bit and get a feel for that, but everything else was pretty much covered.”
Irish Running Backs Coach Autry Denson is both Mellusi’s recruiter and potential position coach. Denson and Mellusi have developed a strong rapport, one that the four-star Floridian credits with playing a large role in his interest in Notre Dame.
“I have a pretty good relationship with Coach Denson,” he shared. “It’s awesome because I get to focus on one person, the person I would be around the most if I do go to that school. I get to know him and he gets to know me. He’s an awesome dude. I talk to him every other week. I can just relate to him well because he’s been through the process and he’s from Florida.”
In addition to Notre Dame, Mellusi holds scholarship offers from some of the big players in college football including Miami, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, South Carolina, Texas A&M and USC. He recently took a trip to Miami.
“It was dope,” he said. “That’s the home team because it’s pretty close.”
He plans to visit Clemson next month but has nothing else scheduled. He’s not in a rush because he won’t likely make a decision until next fall.
“I’m not going to take my officials until the fall,” he explained. “Some of the coaches I’ve talked to don’t really like the whole officials in the spring thing.”
He feels confident that Notre Dame, Miami and Clemson will receive official visits. He’s unsure of the other two.
“I don’t have them all in mind yet,” he said. “Those are probably my three right now.”
Mellusi believes that the official visits will be final determining factor in his decision.
“I guess just the one I’m going to fall in love with the most,” he said of what would drive his final decision. “Distance doesn’t really matter to me. Miami is the home team, that’s cool. Notre Dame is in Indiana and Clemson is in South Carolina, so distance is not a problem. I guess it’s just where I feel I fall in love with the school on my last couple visits.”
Much like with Mellusi, the Irish are aiming very high in their recruitment of Joshua Harris. Harris, DT, 6-5, 295, Person High School, Roxboro, NC is one of the most sought after defensive tackles in the nation and Notre Dame defensive coordinator, Clark Lea is heading up his recruitment.
“I talk to Coach Lea and he’s told me a little bit about campus life and how they are in football,” Harris said. “They’re an up and coming program so I’d definitely like to check it out.”
Notre Dame will have to wade through a sea of competitors if they eventually hope to win Harris’s commitment. In fact, his recruitment has begun to border on the overwhelming, at least for most. Harris seems unfazed.
“So many coaches text me now, it’s just crazy,” he shared. “Everything is going great.”
Of course Lea is part of that craziness but he’s been successful in getting through to the four-star defensive lineman.
“He seems pretty cool,” Harris said. “I’ve talked to him on the phone a couple times.”
He plans on taking a visit to South Bend at some point.
“I’m still going to take a visit up there soon,” he said. “I’m not sure when yet, but I know I am.”
Harris has already visited Duke, North Carolina and Georgia and enjoyed each of them. He’s in no rush to make an early decision and says that academics will play a role in his final choice.
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.