Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
Obviously, there’s still work to do for the Notre Dame coaching staff in finishing out their 2020 recruiting class. They need to add players in the defensive backfield especially as they’ve watched some of their prospects commit elsewhere. Still, the bulk of the class is committed and the Irish coaches are working on 2021, attempting to further capitalize on their 2019 CFP appearance. Last week Irish Sports Daily reported on two recruits, one in the Class of 2020 and one in the Class of 2021 that, while at completely different places in their recruiting, are high on Notre Dame’s wish list. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Lathan Ransom, S, 6-1, 190, Salpointe Catholic High School, Tucson, AZ recently competed at The Opening Finals in Frisco, TX. Ransom talked about rumors that Ohio State is the team to beat.
“Honestly, those three schools (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas) all have a fair chance,” Ransom said. “I did like my Ohio State visit a lot, but some people did take that as, ‘Oh, he’s going to Ohio State and stuff like that.’ Notre Dame, Texas and Ohio State are all great schools and all I like a lot so don’t take it as I’m going there right away.”
While Ransom hasn’t made a final decision, he doesn’t have long to sort it all out. He hopes to commit on his birthday.
“I’m hoping July 16th, it’s my birthday,” he shared. “I’ll turn 17 so I’m really looking forward to that.”
Ransom has already taken his Notre Dame official and says that his relationships with two of the coaches is what the Irish have going for them the most.
“My relationship with Coach (Clark) Lea and Coach (Terry) Joseph is one of the best relationships I have with any coaching staff,” he said. “I really like the dudes down there. They were all real goal-oriented and really see school and some of the other stuff the way I see it, so I like them a lot too.”
Ransom also has developed relationships with some of the Class of 2020 recruits, including quarterback Drew Pyne.
“He’s been hitting me up all of the time, texting multiple times when I was on that visit,” he said. “He’s a super cool dude. He’s been balling since he’s been out here. Chris Tyree too, one of the other dudes recruiting me. He’s a straight stud, straight baller out here. All of the Notre Dame commits, they’ve been super cool.”
Ransom has a geographical bond with fellow Arizonan, offensive lineman Tosh Baker. Baker is also a Notre Dame recruit.
“I like Tosh, he’s super cool.”
Ransom recognizes the uniqueness, the specialness of Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame is one of the places that’s different,” he explained. “Not every school can offer what Notre Dame has to offer. It’s a great education, great alumni system and a great football program competing for a national championship every year.”
Coach Joseph’s pitch to Ransom is for the four-star prospect to see the combination of short-term and long-term benefits of attending Notre Dame.
“You come make an impact early,” Ransom said of Joseph’s message. “He’d have me ready before every game, have me ready for the NFL in the future and there’s not an education better than Notre Dame’s.”
Of course, the other competitors for Ransom’s commitment have their own pitches, some not unlike what he’s hearing from the Irish.
“Come in and play early,” Ransom said of what the Texas coaches are telling him. “Their defense is based around what the safeties do, be in there, make a lot of plays, get in the rotation early since they do play so many safeties and then that alumni system is one of the biggest in the nation.”
Ransom continued.
“Texas is one of the schools that is known as DBU,” he said. “They always have a lot of DB’s on the field. Austin is a great place and kind of closer to home. I really liked it a lot when I was out there.”
Ransom cited his strong relationship with new Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as one of the appeals of the Buckeyes.
“He just came from the NFL, so I feel like he really knows what the NFL is looking for,” he explained. “I feel like he’ll develop me in ways I feel like some places couldn’t. I had a great feeling in Columbus.”
Ransom long-time friend and teammate, running back Bijan Robinson is also seriously considering Texas and Ohio State.
“We’re not going to change one of our decisions to play with each other, but we’ve been playing since we were younger,” Ransom explained. “If we do end up playing together, it’s a blessing, a straight blessing.”
Ransom and Robinson compare notes after having visited a school.
“Every time he comes from a visit, every time I come from a visit, we tell each other how it was,” Ransom said. “We tell each other the good things and the bad things, looking out for each other because we’re brothers at the end of the day.”
Ransom still insists that Robinson’s decision won’t affect his, but he does acknowledge that his family’s thoughts will play a role.
“My family’s input is going to help me a little bit; my sister’s input, my dad’s input and my mom too, and then just compare all of the good things and bad things about each school,” he said. “Where we go after there, we’ll see.”
Dekel Crowdus, WR, 5-10, 161, Frederick Douglass High School, Lexington, KY was one of the few underclassmen invited to The Opening Finals. The benefits of being there weren’t lost on the Class of 2021 recruit.
“I’m very blessed to be here,” he said. “It’s been great going against the top athletes in the nation. I’ve still got to ball out against these kids.”
His goal for his time at The Opening was straightforward.
“Just to get better every day going against these big kids,” he said of what he wanted to accomplish. “The coaching has been great. It’s been smooth. They’re great coaches. They all know what they’re talking about.”
Crowdus’s recruitment has taken off as of late with scholarship offers from Ohio State, Penn State, Florida State among others.
“I’ve been loving it,” he said of the increased attention. “It just makes me feel better. My most recent visit was the University of Virginia. It was real smooth. I had the camp there and then they offered me. Then I went to Ohio State. I camped there and they offered me.”
Crowdus, along with Class of 2020 teammate Walter Parks, visited Notre Dame for a game last year. Parks has since committed to Clemson but Crowdus is still considering the Irish, keeping in touch with the coaches as much as he can.
“They can’t really talk to me since I’m a young kid,” he explained. “They wanted me to come down there for camp but I was at Clemson for like a three day camp and I couldn’t come.”
He would like to eventually return to South Bend.
“Oh, yeah for sure,” he said. “Whenever they want to invite me to a game, I will come for sure. Their tradition is legit and the atmosphere there is crazy. It shocked me seeing the whole facility.”
Even though Crowdus felt like he saw most everything the first time he wants to return to Notre Dame’s campus to “get a better feel for everything.”
Crowdus doesn’t have any leaders or a timetable for a decision at this time.
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.