Recruiting Week In Review
In recruiting circles, May is known for new offers and new names popping up on the radar. The obvious challenge in recruiting young men that are high school juniors is that of being able to project not just their skill development but also their physical and emotional maturation. Character counts and there’s no question that the Notre Dame staff puts emphasis upon high character young men. In almost twelve years of writing the Recruiting Week in Review, I have lost track of the number of times that I’ve quoted coaches talking about what an incredible person the Notre Dame recruit is off the field. The prospects themselves frequently talk about how important the 40-year decision is for them, a wonderful sign of maturation.
Last week, Irish Sports Daily reported on two young men who seem to have their priorities in order and recognize and appreciate not just the opportunity to play football at Notre Dame but to get an education there as well. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Malcolm Greene, S, 5-11, 180, Highland Springs High School, Highland Springs, VA knew Notre Dame Safeties Coach Terry Joseph was visiting his school but could not get out of class to say hello. While that was disappointing, it was alleviated by the fact that Joseph left word with Greene’s coaches that Notre Dame was extending him a scholarship offer.
“I was happy, ecstatic,” he remembered.
Greene can look to Virginia native Jalen Elliott as a role model. Under Joseph’s and Defensive Clark Lea’s tutelage, Elliott has turned into a game changer at safety, forming a tremendous tandem with Alohi Gilman. Greene believes that, like Elliott, he can also be successful at Notre Dame.
In addition to the Irish, he has received scholarship offers from Virginia Tech, Clemson, Michigan, Duke, LSU, Florida and numerous others. Now that Notre Dame is part of that illustrious group, he hopes to begin building a relationship with Joseph and the other Irish coaches.
“I’ll definitely stay in touch,” he said. “I definitely want to go on a visit there sometime soon also, but I don’t know when just yet. I just want to make sure the atmosphere is a family atmosphere and that everything feels right.”
Greene is a young man that is focused on his academics, an attitude that has been fostered at home.
“My parents are always so hard on me about doing good in school and how after football it’s going to be school,” he explained. “I need to set myself up to be successful outside of playing football.”
At this point Greene has no timetable for a decision.
Lovie Jenkins, CB, 6-1, 180, Ocoee High School, Ocoee, FL has held his Notre Dame scholarship a bit longer than Greene and has had the opportunity to move his recruiting farther forward, which he has done. And also like Greene, he is being recruited by Terry Joseph, whose recent visit to Jenkins’ school resulted in the three-star defensive back locking down an official visit with the Irish.
“Notre Dame is a once in a lifetime thing,” he said. “That’s just a big opportunity that you can’t turn down.”
Jenkins wasn’t just talking football with his description of Notre Dame.
“They can provide me with more than just football,” he explained. “They can provide me with help for the next forty years of my life.”
Joseph’s message to Jenkins has been very simple.
“The message he gave me was that he doesn’t recruit backups,” he said. “He kept it one hundred with me. He said he feels that I can come in and work.”
While Jenkins knows that there are playing opportunities at Notre Dame, he also knows that he will need to buckle down and work to realize them. No one is going to hand him anything. He’ll learn more about those opportunities when he takes his official visit on June 21st.
“I just want to see if I can fit in there and see everything,” he shared. “I want to see if it’s a good vibe and everything.”
Jenkins had previously listed Pittsburgh as a possible official visit but he seems to have cooled on that. Instead he’s looking at Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisville.
“I’ve got to look into it some more.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.