Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
Losing players to graduation and the NFL is just a part of the process of college football. Teams recruit to fill those slots but it’s not simply plugging in the next recruit. Even the powerhouse recruiters like Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson don’t always get their man and adjustments must be made. Sometimes a team’s needs don’t become clear until those that can leave early do. And it’s not necessarily a bad problem to have. When players are leaving early for the NFL it’s a clear sign that the program has done a good job of recruiting and developing talent. For the Irish, there are clear holes to be filled with their graduation and early leaving losses and their recruiting reflects that. Notre Dame is going to need a big receiver and there’s a certain amount of restocking necessary in the secondary. Of course, offensive and defensive line are always priorities. Last week Irish Sports Daily reported on two prospects that could fill the holes left by Miles Boykin and Julian Love. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Maliq Carr, WR, 6-5, 215, Oak Park High School, Oak Park, MI recently visited South Bend for Notre Dame’s Junior Day and then went on to Ann Arbor the following day. His busy weekend gave him the opportunity to see and compare both schools though he had only positive comments on each.
“It went great,” he said of his Notre Dame visit. “I learned a lot more about the school part. They graduate a lot more kids than I really thought.”
Carr was very pleased by the academic data and also happy about the time he spent with the coaching staff.
“I was just talking to them,” he explained. “There wasn’t like a certain message. We were just hanging out. They’re good people, they’re really good people.”
While he was at Notre Dame, the Irish coaches explained to him how they would use him in their offense.
“Just like they used (Miles) Boykin” he shared. “I would play just like him, I would just make more plays.”
Carr hopes to return to Notre Dame as soon as possible though he doesn’t currently have a timeline for doing so. His goal is to see what a typical day is like in the life of a Notre Dame student-athlete.
He also got the opportunity to see what Michigan had to offer.
“It was more than I expected,” he said. “The weight room, the offensive coordinator from Alabama just went there. He showed me that he’s going to change their offense. They’re a great team.”
Carr has plans to visit Missouri but doesn’t have any others besides that. It appears as if the three-star receiver is giving himself more time to decide. He originally intended to pull the trigger on his birthday, October 11, but now seems to pushing that back.
“I thought I wanted to have it done by my birthday, but the way it’s looking now, I might not even commit,” he said. “I might just wait until Signing Day (in December) and sign with the school that feels right, so I’ll have more time to follow through.”
While Carr is in Notre Dame’s regional area, Jalen Kimber, CB, Mansfield Timberview High School, Mansfield, TX is much farther away. The distance is a bit illusionary, though. He originally hailed from the Chicago area so he has much more knowledge of Notre Dame that he might otherwise. Despite growing up nearby, he’s never been on the Irish campus and would like to change that
“I’d like to see the campus because I’ve never been there,” he explained. “I heard it’s a beautiful place and just to see the vibe of how things operate there. I just like the program. I like how the coaches recruit me and just the vibe I get from them, I really like it.”
Kimber has been recruited by a number of members of the Notre Dame staff, but the three main ones have been Cornerbacks Coach Todd Lyght, Special Teams Coordinator Brian Polian and Head Coach Brian Kelly.
“They all texted me after I got out of practice one time,” he shared. “They really like me and want me to play for the Irish. They just want the best for me.”
Kimber has some familiarity with players that have played for Notre Dame and some that are going to. He met Julian Love after playing against his brother while Kimber was still in Illinois. He also ran across Kyle Hamilton by pure happenstance.
“Me and him were at the Army Combine at the same time, but my dad and his dad had already known each other,” he explained. “Me and Kyle just happened to start talking to each other at the camp.”
In addition to Notre Dame, Kimber sports offers from Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Michigan, Penn State, TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and many others. He visited Texas recently and will soon be traveling to Alabama.
“I’m probably going to take some more visits and eventually I will start narrowing things down,” he said.
Though Kimber doesn’t have a firm timetable for a decision, he does know what he’s looking for.
“A place I feel comfortable and once my dad drops me off at that school, that my family is cool with it and everything like that,” he shared. “Just the total package.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily