Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Carlo Calabrese (44), defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, and safety Matthias Farley (41) celebrate after an interception by Farley in the second quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish coaching staff extended an offer to 2015 Long Beach Poly Defensive Back Iman Marshall. Marshall adds the University of Notre Dame to an impressive offer list that includes Southern California, Florida State and Washington.

247Sports is the only recruiting service that currently has rankings for the 2015 class. Marshall is ranked as the 50th best recruit in the class. He is the 5th best Cornerback. Marshall is rated as the 8th best player in the state of California.

Marshall checks in at 6’2″ 195. This frame makes it seem like he will eventually play Safety as opposed to Cornerback at the collegiate level. Marshall is only 16 years old. He will probably grow a few more inches before his Freshman year.

Notre Dame historically has not done well at Long Beach Poly High School. Players from this school typically head to USC. However, Notre Dame did land Freddie Parish IV under Tyrone Willingham. Parish eventually transferred to Stephen F. Austin after his Sophomore year.

Marshall appears to be leaning towards selecting the Trojans of Southern California at this point in his recruitment. Based on information available and USC’s history with the high school, Marshall will likely make a commitment before the beginning of his Senior season.

Feb 6, 2013; Auburn, CA, USA; Eddie Vanderdoes signs the scholarship paperwork after he announced he will attend Notre Dame on national signing day at Placer High School. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

According to reports, Eddie Vanderdoes, the 305lb defensive tackle from Placer High School, CA, may be wavering from his commitment to Notre Dame.  Joe Davidson of sacbee.com posted on his blog yesterday that various sources on social media and recruiting services claiming to be close to Vanderdoes have indicated that Vanderdoes may not attend Notre Dame.

The speculation about Vanderdoes’ commitment includes academic/eligibity issues, UCLA recruitment and character flaws.  Vanderdoes father texted Joe Davidson with the following statemetn: “One thing I can tell you is grades or eligibility is not and has never been an issue. . .let people speculate, but you will be the first to know, as always, when it’s time to let people know.” Placer High School head football coach, Joe Montoya, has confirmed Vanderdoes’ father statement and reinforced that Vanderdoes not have any academic or character issues.  But neither mentioned Notre Dame.

I will wait for the truth to come from Eddie Vanderdoes himself and will not speculate on the rumors circulating the internet.  However, one thing I can say without doubt, the loss of Vanderdoes will have huge ramifications on this football team.

If Vanderdoes decides to opt out of his commitment, the team will not feel an immediate effect as Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt will anchor the line in 2013.  But Nix and Tuitt will most likely be gone in 2014 and Notre Dame will have a huge hole in the middle of the defensive line.  Unless someone can fill that void, an area that carried the team for several years will now struggle to compete on the national level.  The underclassmen, Sheldon Day, Jarron Jones and Tony Springman along with new recuits Isaac Rochell(2013), Andrew Trumbetti(2014) and Jay Hayes (2014) will perform admirably but none of these players have the size, strength and athleticism already possessed by Vanderdoes.   In order to compensate for the loss of Vanderdoes, Brian Kelly and Bob Diaco will have to put a full-court press on the major defensive line recruits in the 2014 class.

The Vanderdoes news brings back bad memories of the unexplained decommitment or transfer of high level recruits under Kelly, most notably Aaron Lynch, Tee Shepard, Deontay Greenberry, Davonte Neal and Gunner Kiel. Let’s just hope these are rumors.

Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish wear a shamrock sticker with the letter B in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Last week Brian Kelly and Co received a committment from OL Alex Bars of Tennessee. Bars announced his committment via twitter: “I have officially committed to the University of Notre Dame.” Bars committment brings Notre Dame’s 2014 class to 10 recruits.

Bars was rated as a 4-star recruit by Rivals and 247sports, and is listed as the 55th player in the ESPN 150 ranking of high school football recruits. Bars, a 6’6 290lb lineman from Montgomery Bell Academy, will most likely develop into a tackle at Notre Dame.  Bars was believed to be a heavy lean to Michigan given the fact that his brother plays for the Wolverines and Bars took two unofficial visits to the campus even though Bars father played for the Irish from 1981 to 1984. Kelly needs to keep in mind that Michigan will continue to recruit Bars until his official letter is signed in February of next year. Bars also received offers from Penn St, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ohio St, Stanford and Texas A&M to name a few.

Bars high school tape reveals an athlete with the potential to anchor an offensive line and provide quality years as a starter. However, the tape also displays several glaring areas of improvement. Bars stands straight up when blocking defenders and seems to lack the strength to drive smaller defenders off the line. Under the tutelage of Paul Luongo and Harry Hiestand, Bars should improve, but he will need to red-shirt his first season.

The committment of Bars continues Brian Kelly’s pattern of building his team around the trenches. The 2013 had five offensive linemen: Steve Elmer, Hunter Bivin, John Montelus, Colin McGovern and Mike McGlinchey, while Bars joins Jimmy Byrne, Sam Mustipher and Quenton Nelson as the 4th offensive linemen in the 2014 class. With running backs Elijah Hood (2014), Greg Bryant (2013) and Tarean Folston (2013) also in the fold, Notre Dame looks setup for a bright future.