Notre Dame Football Recruiting Updates

Florida speedster Tarean Folson is one of two top running backs to choose Notre Dame, despite an SEC school trying to grab him following his committal to the Fighting Irish.

The consensus four-star running back isn’t a physically imposing at just 5’9, 190 pounds, but he runs a blistering 4.40 40 time. It’s that speed that makes him a top commit. ESPN doesn’t rank him as a running back, but rather an athlete, No. 6 in that category, while Rivals classifies him as the No. 14 running back in the country.

Redfield is one of those recruits who stands a great chance to make an instant impact when he heads to South Bend this summer. Redfield has great range that allows him to play strong in coverage, physical measurables, and has all the tools ready to contribute anyway. He does have to fix his technique a little, but that can be fixed over time.

Here’s the scouting report Notre Dame blog One Foot Down put together for Redfield’s commitment.

Defensive end prospect Kylie Fitts took an official visit to Notre Dame this weekend ($) and enjoyed the experience. Fitts liked how important faith is to the football program, and he thinks the school is the total package.

Fitts had been a USC commitment until he was told his scholarship had been deferred from the spring to the fall. Fitts took extra classes in high school to graduate early with plans to enroll at USC in January. But the Trojans ended up not having room for him this semester, and now he’s exploring other options.

Running back prospect Tarean Folston, from Cocoa High School in Florida, committed to Notre Dame early in January, but nonetheless took a visit to Auburn on the weekend of Jan. 18. Since Gus Malzahn took the head coaching job at Auburn, the Tigers have shown heavy interest in Folston, according to his high school coach.

“Ever since coach (Gus) Malzahn got the job they’ve been on him, talking to him, and coming by the school,” John Wilkinson said. “Coach Malzahn came by the school. (Auburn wide receivers) coach (Dameyune) Craig has been on him since they got hired.”

Update: Stanley Williams has called the episode “a big misunderstanding” and apologized.

Even when we’re not talking about Manti Te’o, we’re still talking about Manti Te’o. But what are our alternatives right here? We have none.

Notre Dame won’t experience a major dropoff in talent over the next few seasons, as the Fighting Irish are universally regarded as having one of the best classes in the nation in 2013.

Notre Dame were the runners-up on the field in 2012, getting absolutely crushed by Alabama in the National Championship game. But they’re beating Alabama on the recruiting trail: ESPN and Rivals consider Notre Dame’s class to be the top in the country, while Scout is slightly pessimistic, putting the Irish at No. 2 behind Michigan. Brian Kelly’s staff bringing in a class 23 recruits strong, with blue chippers across the board:

I’m always interested in the journey. How did a team get to where is is? How did the players arrive at the school? So today, I’m asking that about Notre Dame. And as I comb through the roster, I found a tale of two head coaches: Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly.

Who recruited the majority of the starters for these Fighting Irish? Charlie Weis. Of the 22 listed starters for the Irish, 15 signed with or originally committed to Charlie Weis. This is a veteran football team, and Weis laid the foundation.

Notre Dame received some good news Friday during the Under Armour All-America Game. Max Redfield, a top safety recruit out of Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School, committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish over the USC Trojans.

At 6’3 and 195 pounds, Redfield has excellent size and range. He can drop into the box to play the run, or align over the slot receiver in pass coverage.

How important of a target is running back Tarean Folston for Notre Dame? Important enough for head coach Brian Kelly to drop in on the Cocoa (Fla.) star, according to 247sports.

I previously wrote about Folston here:

A consensus four-star prospect, Hunter is ranked as one of the top 250 players in the nation by the 247Sports composite. The overall MVP of the 7ON tournament at The Opening back in July, the 6-1, 172-pounder with 4.57 speed in the 40-yard dash just made plays for his team, which took home the championship in large part due to Hunter’s efforts down the field, as he consistently created separation against the highest competition he could face at the high school level.

Prior to his commitment, Hunter held offers from Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Stanford, TCU, Utah and West Virginia, as well as recent interest from Texas.

Among them are receiver recruit Torii Hunter Jr. of Prosper, Texas. The son of MLB superstar Torii Hunter, the younger Hunter displayed excellent leaping ability and ball skills at Nike’s The Opening over the summer, and has picked up right where he left off with a strong senior season.

On the other side of the ball, the Irish have a major need for defensive backs, and corners Cole Luke and L.J. Moore of Hamilton, Arizona and Fresno, California, respectively. This is the second time Luke has seen the Irish this season, and will also see them play at Oklahoma, according to the excellent Notre Dame site, One Foot Down.

News of Notre Dame’s impending partial move to the ACC broke Wednesday morning. And with it, many Irish fans are wondering how it will impact recruiting.

That’s a complicated question.

How does Randolph fit into the Irish’s long-term plans? For that, turn to Irish blog One Foot Down:

For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down.

In the wake of the NCAA’s recent sanctions against Penn State, the school has lost several current players and recruits. Penn State has lost another committed recruit as wide receiver Will Fuller has now flipped his commitment to Notre Dame. Fuller is the third player the Nittany Lions have lost since the sanctions came down.

Fuller informed IrishIllustrated.com of his commitment via text message.

Jamel James, a top running back recruit, committed to Notre Dame on Saturday. The story was first reported by Irish Sports Daily.

Out of Katy (Texas) Cinco Ranch High School, James is an impressive back. He is a no-nonsense runner at 5’11 and 215 pounds, and his physical style is a welcome presence in Notre Dame’s spread offense.

Alex Anzalone, a top linebacker recruit, committed to Notre Dame Sunday at Nike’s premier camp, The Opening. Anzalone stars for Wyomissing (Pa.) High School. He stands 6’3 and checks in at 225 pounds. Anzalone chose the Fighting Irish over offers from Penn State and Florida, as well as Ohio State, Alabama and a host of others.

Anzalone was committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes for a time, but he was then involved in a bizarre series of events including a sex offender reaching out to Anzalone and meeting him during a visit for the Ohio State spring game. He subsequently decommitted.

Rochell stands 6’5” and weighs in at 260 pounds. He is a perfect fit for the five-technique end position in Notre Dame’s 3-4 defense. Rochell displays good agility and athleticism for his size, and already overpowers blockers at the high school level. He has the frame to add significant size to his frame to control the run game, and should be able to contribute some pass rush as well.

Rochell is the 15th player to commit to the Irish in the class of 2013. Importantly, and differently than his recent predecessors, Brian Kelly is managing to land elite defensive line recruits. That had not happened often enough under the previous administrations.

Smith is a consensus five-star recruit, and for good reason. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Smith either currently has or projects to have plus skills at every facet of the outside linebacker position. He already possesses excellent agility, quickness and speed for his size, allowing him to excel both in coverage and in rushing the passer off the edge. That coverage ability is important for a linebacker of his height, and is why Smith profiles as a three-down linebacker.

Smith has great length and adequate strength. More importantly, however, he has the frame to add a lot of good weight. Smith should be able to carry 235 pounds without losing quickness or agility.