California speedster Geordon Porter became the 18th Notre Dame commit of the 2018 cycle when he announced for the Irish at his high school today. At 6’2″, Porter is actually the shortest of the three receivers in the class at this point; clearly the Irish have prioritized size at the position. What is even more interesting about Porter, though, is his speed – he has a 10.61 100M and an electronic 4.57 40 on his resume, as well as a 35″ vertical. He needs some polish, certainly, but the raw athleticism is visible and it’s impressive.

Porter visited Notre Dame for the first time back on Georgia weekend. Despite the game result, he and his father both loved the visit and couldn’t say enough good things about it. Arizona State and, to a lesser extent, Utah made a strong late push for his services, but ultimately the work Brian Polian put into this relationship proved to be too much for them to overcome. The staff got its desired downfield threat in the class, as well as a guy who could get a look at defensive back.

Also, if you were wondering – I definitely was – his first name is pronounced “Jordan.” Flutie should have fun with that one.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Composite — 3 star (.8690), #490 overall, #86 WR, #32 in CA

247 Sports — 3 star, #333 overall, #54 WR, #41 in CA

Rivals — 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #67 WR, #47 in CA

Scout — 3 star, NR overall, #144 WR, #23 in CA

ESPN — 3 star (78 rating), NR overall, #113 WR, #55 in CA

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Geordon Porter also holds offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Cal, Duke, Georgia, Utah, UCLA, and Washington State, among others. Arizona State and Utah were the primary competition.

Highlights

Porter broke current NFLer Marvin Jones’s school record for all purpose yards in a game earlier this season, ironically enough against Max Redfield’s high school. In the senior highlights below, you can see why he’s dangerous; he shows that excellent open-field speed from the first play. He has a long stride and watches for the right moment to accelerate, so at times it looks almost like he’s loafing – and then BAM. He shows pretty good vision in the open field and an aggressive mentality. He’s not afraid to take a guy on if that’s the best way to get through. On the final play of this highlight reel you even get to see him on defense, where he does a good job of recognizing the play and closing out on the ball carrier.

Porter will definitely need to work on his craft before he can contribute. Most of the routes here are either a go, a post, or a fade; when there’s something a little more nuanced, he tends to round off his cuts or sort of drift through the route to where he’s supposed to be. That’s easily teachable. He’s also not the shiftiest guy, but he has the speed and explosion numbers to improve somewhat there. That’s not the end of the world since he’s in this class as a take-the-top-off type of guy. Finally, while he shows great concentration, there were a few catches he made here where he went to the ground needlessly. He got away with that here, obviously, since it’s a highlight reel, but I’d like to see him attack those balls more aggressively to cut down the time the defense has to disrupt the catch.

Impact

Geordon Porter needs some work on technique and probably needs to add a some good weight to his 175-pound frame. He’s probably not going to see the field in 2018, but if he develops his game I could see him working into the rotation as a sophomore and becoming a regular contributor as a junior. You can teach technique, but you can’t teach raw speed, and he has that. That’s going to be hard to keep out of the lineup. He could also get a look on defense, probably at corner, and/or as a return specialist.

Welcome to the Irish family, Geordon!