Notre Dame Recruiting Update: Friday, September 14, 2012
By Nick Combs
Sep 8, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take the field before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE
According to Rivals.com, Notre Dame currently has 20 commitments for the 2013 season. This includes one 5 star player, ten 4 star players, and nine 3 star players. Currently, Notre Dame is ranked 4th overall in recruiting for the 2013 season.
Mackensie Alexander
An aggressive 4 star cornerback who can even be over aggressive at times, which results in over pursuing the ball carrier. Alexander has great coverage skills paired with excellent nose for the ball. This translates into turnovers. This guy would be a great addition to Notre Dame’s Defensive Backs since there is little to no depth there. Alexander is ranked as 7th best Defensive Back according to rivals. The most recent news about this recruit is that he recently stated that Notre Dame was his ‘best option’. He is also interested in Nebraska and Florida State, even though he said he does not want to stay in state.
Austin Hooper
Hooper is a 3 star defensive end, that stands 6’4’’ 233 pounds. He gets to the quarterback exceptionally well usually on an outside rush. That kind of stuff will not work all the time in college football. Hooper has a nice swim move that is quick and executed with good technique. He always has his arms extended, which is what a Defensive Lineman needs to do. With his outside move being his go to you can see the Quarterbacks taking a shorter drop and moving up in the pocket immediately to avoid his rush. Adding a spin or and inside dip and rip would be key to making more plays. Notre Dame hosted him this past summer and is still awaiting his reply for an official visit. His stock in Notre Dame is rising and I would expect Hooper to visit sometime this fall. His top schools are as follows, Oregon, Washington, Cal, and Utah.
Torii Hunter Jr.
The 6’ 172 pound 4 star wide receiver is ranked 35th at his position. Hunter has great ball skills. He always catches the ball at its highest point. His technique is textbook when it comes to catching a football, because he puts his hands together into a triangle before the ball arrives. He has good awareness finding the holes in the defense when the play breaks down. He is an average route runner and could be a more fundamentally sound. That comes with time and coaching. Hunter could come off the ball so much quicker if he did not rock back to his back foot to push off when releasing. He is set to have his official visit when Notre Dame plays Michigan on the 22nd of this month. This week he is visiting Arkansas and the 29th he is visiting Nebraska. His top schools are Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Arkansas.
Leon McQuay III
McQuay is a 5 star safety that comes in at 6’2’’ 185 pounds. McQuay has really boosted his stock over the summer and colleges have taken notice. He is a hard hitting safety with great run support. His coverage lacks at times, which is what concerned most coaches and that’s what he improved on over the summer. Losing Jamoris Slaughter and Zeke Motta will leave Notre Dame at a loss at safety. They need these high caliber players to come in work hard and develop quickly. McQuay stated that academics are very important to him. And with a 3.73 G.P.A he is serious. He said he wants to check out Notre Dame. He is said to be a long shot for Notre Dame. But do you remember what happened with Manti Te’o? His top schools as of now are, Vanderbilt, Michigan, and USC.