Notre Dame Football Recruiting Update: Friday, October 19, 2012
By Nick Combs
Oct. 13, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; General view of the Notre Dame campus as ESPN Gameday is broadcast before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE
According to Rivals.com, Notre Dame currently has 21 commitments for the 2013 season. This includes one 5 star player, eleven 4 star players, and nine 3 star players. Currently Notre Dame is ranked 5th overall in recruiting. Just another week filled with rumors. Danny Mattingly has not decommitted like we reported, but he doesn’t plan to head back to Notre Dame until after the season for his official visit.
Chris Hawkins
A 4 star recruit that stands 5’11’’ 170 pounds, that is currently committed to USC. Hawkins was very impressed with the visit he took at Notre Dame last weekend when the Irish played the Cardinal. It has been reported that he wants to bring his father back to Notre Dame so he can get a look for himself. His father told ESPN that Notre Dame gave a different vibe that no one else had given to this point. The possibilities for an unofficial visit are this weekend and November 2nd, but only time will tell.
Isaac Savaiinaea
The 3 star inside linebacker that stands 6’3’’ 235 pounds and went to the same high school as Manti Te’o and Robby Toma. It has been said that Manti and Robby were trying to persuade Savaiinaea to come to Notre Dame based on their experiences, coaching, and the university itself. He is currently committed to Stanford, but he did visit last weekend when the Irish beat the Cardinal in overtime. As of now there are 5 linebackers committed from the 2013 class and so it comes down to numbers, because only 4 will start. Savaiinaea has good potential, but has a lot of work to do like many incoming freshmen.
Al-Quadin Muhammad
Like we said earlier this week, Muhammad is one of the recruits more likely to pick Notre Dame as his new home. The 4 star defensive end that stands 6’4’’ 225 pounds is that pure pass rusher that Notre Dame could use on third down. Admissions have been a slight bump in the road, but it seems that it will work itself out in the end. He has said he will not make a definite decision until his high school football season is over.
Alex Anzalone
The 4 star linebacker that stands 6’3’’ 220 visited (unofficial) the University of Florida 2 weeks ago, but hasn’t commented much about it. Most people commenting on this think that he will stay committed to Notre Dame since he has already flipped once. Will he flip twice? If he does, will that hurt his reputation of being someone of his word? In my opinion Anzalone will stay committed to Notre Dame and could make an impact right away on special teams and maybe get into the rotation as a sophomore.
After Chris Hawkins and Max Redfield visited during the Stanford game, many recruiting experts think that Notre Dame can land at least one maybe two elite defensive backs to this year’s recruiting class. With Notre Dame’s defense playing well it is only helping reaffirm their commitment to great defense and not accepting anything less. Look for more news about Muhammad as the season comes to an end. Check out the top 5 prospects tab as well for more information on recruiting.