Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
Class of 2020 recruiting is in full swing for Notre Dame. They’ve gotten three 2020 verbal commitments so far and are recruiting numerous prospects as they build the class. Like with any other recruiting class, the Irish coaches will balance numbers with need but at this point they’re casting an ever-widening net to develop relationships with as many recruits as possible.
Last week, Irish Sports Daily reported on two 2020 prospects that are highly rated at their respective positions. These two young men could each serve as a key component of the Notre Dame back seven for many years to come. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Kalel Mullings, LB, 6-2, 210, Milton Academy, Boston, MA loves football. One doesn’t get to the level that he has without doing so. However, he also refuses to be considered only a football player.
“At this school, after football season, I still work out and do other things but football doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I feel like that’s a good thing. Life isn’t just going to be about football. Best case scenario, I go to the NFL and I play fifteen years. You have a lot more of life outside of football and I feel like this school (Milton) is one of the best schools in the country.”
This attitude propels Mullings to seek a similar environment when he goes to college and while he has dozens of offers, Notre Dame might well be the university that best fits his priorities. The four-star prospect visited South Bend for the Michigan game and says he “got that feeling” about the Irish.
“When people talk about how you have 80-something thousand people in the stands, however million people watching,” he explained. “Then you go back on Monday and it’s just a class with 15, 20 people. You don’t really get that at too many places. I feel the same mentality, the same vibe here.”
Mullings realizes that the offers are based on potential and the failure to develop that potential can cause them to go away as quickly as they came.
“It’s been great, but nothing is guaranteed, nothing is given,” he said. “All of those offers, especially when you’re offering a fourteen year old, it’s all on potential. They’re not expecting me to go up and play in that Saturday night game and go do something. In four years I’ll be able to do that. You just have to keep working, keep grinding to live up to that potential and go do big things.”
Mullings plans on a July 2019 decision and predictably it will be based on fit.
“The locker room, the coaches, everything about it,” he shared. “Just making sure it’s the right fit and everything I need out of a school and a place where I can play.”
Before he makes that decision, Mullings plans on looking at as many schools as possible. He’s dedicated to making the most informed decision that he possibly can.
“My view on this whole thing is to go everywhere and anywhere that wants me, as many places as I can because I want to make sure I’m making the right decision,” he said. “I don’t want to leave any stone unturned.”
Mullings is not just on a mission for himself but also for all players in the Northeast United States. He wants to prove that there’s serious football talent in that region of the nation as well.
“You have older guys like (Boston College running back) AJ Dillon right now,” he said. “He could win the Heisman this year. He’s a perfect example of a dude straight out of Lawrence Academy, about an hour up the road. He’s balling on the big level.”
Mullings tries to prove his point at combines and camps when he’s competing against players from around the nation.
“That’s a big part of my mindset,” he shared. “You have to have that and bring that confidence when you go to those camps to succeed.”
Clark Phillips, CB, 5-10, 178, La Habra High School, La Habra, CA doesn’t share the burden of proving that players from his region can play football. California is one of the biggest producers of FBS talent in the nation. However, like Mullings, he does have a Notre Dame offer and legitimate interest in the Irish.
“It’s a big one,” Phillips said of the Notre Dame offer. “It’s bigger than football to me.”
Notre Dame defensive backs coach Todd Lyght has been communicating with Phillips for months now.
“He gave me a couple different reasons to describe the magnitude and size of the offer; if you graduate from Notre Dame, the different opportunities that you have based on your career and what you majored in,” Phillips explained. “You have the opportunity to get out in football or life after football.”
Lyght’s career is very impressive to Phillips.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity if you’re able to play in the NFL, but it’s even bigger to play in a Super Bowl and things like that,” he shared. “To be in the position he’s in and now be able to coach kids in college and recruit kids who want to go to college, I think that’s the biggest thing for him; to have already played and be bigger than to just say, ‘I know guys who played.’ He can say ‘yeah I actually did it.’”
Philips’ relationship with Lyght extends beyond just recruiting. The two have conversations about “life in general” each discussing their goals and aspirations. The conversations aren’t limited to just Phillips and Lyght but extend to the whole family. The end result has been a very strong rapport between coach and player that have them thinking on the same wavelength.
“He’s been analyzing my game,” Phillips reported. “I’ve been looking at his coaching style and things like that. We’ve really built a great relationship. He’s told me what I need to do in the classroom and things like that in order to have the opportunity to play at Notre Dame because it’s really bigger than football. Yeah, I could go there and just be eligible, but I’m looking to graduate with the degree I want to graduate with in order to get to the next level whether that’s football or being a doctor or physical trainer; it doesn’t matter.”
In addition to Notre Dame, Phillips has offers from Penn State, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and many others. Phillips is already working to make it to South Bend.
“We’re working on that right now as a family,” he said. “We’re actually working on getting the visits in line and seeing what schools we would go to and what games we’ll go to. That’ll all be determined in the next couple of weeks for sure.”
Phillips is very interested in getting a great education but he’s also prioritizing playing time.
“Getting on the field as soon as possible,” he said of one of his primary goals. “That’s one of the biggest things for me, that’s probably the biggest thing. What school can get me on the field and get me to the next level.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.