Welcome to the first installment of the 18S Big Board for Fighting Irish Football. We’re starting off your new favorite regular update today with the QB and RB positions.
Let’s jump right into it, starting with QB.
Yes, that is an empty Big Board. The Irish landed their quarterback for the 2017 class back in March when 4-star Avery Davis committed during his Junior Day visit.
The two other offered quarterbacks, Hunter Johnson and Hendon Hooker, have found homes elsewhere. Johnson was committed to Tennessee, but eventually flipped to Clemson. Hooker committed to Virginia Tech shortly after Davis chose the Irish.
Moving on to running backs…
It’s unlikely that the Irish see much action at running back from here on out, since CJ Holmes joined the IRISHEL17E at The Opening. It’s possible that the staff decides to pick up one more back, but with numbers being tight (as usual, it seems) it probably won’t happen.
In Play
Cam Akers is really high on teams like Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Georgia, among others. The Irish aren’t really a player here, but he’s undecided right now, so he stays on the board. Cam should be making a trip to Ohio State later this week.
Stephen Carr remains committed to USC, but he is still looking around. I get the sense that he is sticking with the Trojans, however.
Anthony McFarland had Notre Dame in his Top 10, but it doesn’t look like they will receive an official visit from him. His OV’s will be to Maryland, Miami, Alabama, and Texas A&M.
Ty Chandler is probably done taking summer visits right now, which means the Irish are pretty much out of it at this point. He should take some officials in the fall before making a decision, but don’t expect the Irish to be among those visits.
Colin Wilson was in town for Irish Invasion, and it’s possible that the staff continues to pursue him. That probably won’t end up being the case, though. He was pretty good at the Irish Invasion, but maybe not “we’ll make room for him despite the numbers crunch” good.
Devan Barrett may be making a decision before the start of his senior season. He might also decide to push his decision back a bit. If he does decide soon, look for Auburn to earn his verbal.
If Notre Dame pushes for another running back, it’ll probably be Robert Burns. He’s committed to Miami right now, but the Irish likely flip him if they push for him.
CJ Cotman was offered by the staff a couple of months ago. He’s not likely at target at running back anymore since Holmes is already in the fold, but he has position versatility. The staff could recruit him as a defensive back from here on, but at this point it’s unclear if that will be the case.
Committed Elsewhere
Najee Harris has been committed to Bama for a while, and if that changes, it probably won’t be because of Notre Dame.
JK Dobbins is committed to Ohio State.
Trey Sermon is committed to Oklahoma.
AJ Dillon, grandson of Irish legend Thom Gatewood, is committed to Michigan.
Alaric Williams is committed to Auburn.
Toneil Carter committed to Georgia during the Opening.
That’ll wrap up this Big Board. We’re finally getting to a point where names are starting to come off most boards faster than they are being added. Expect the Big Boards to steadily shrink as the months go by.
AJ went to Mich?! Impossible!
In any case, looks like we’re sitting pretty here…
He wants to be a running back at the next level. Many, including initially the Notre Dame staff, believe his brighter future is at linebacker. The staff changed their tune later and told him they’d give him a shot at running back first, but it seems he didn’t really believe them. Michigan recruited him as a running back throughout, and he did believe them when they said he could stay there. We’ll see what happens, but supposedly that’s what it came down to.
I do think he’s a very interesting back for what Harbaugh wants to do. He probably compares pretty well to Stepfan Taylor.
Testing…
I’m gonna copy and paste OFD setup and see if that works since code looks similar (preview worked there):
I love these big boards. I’m very happy to see them again. Great work Tyler.