Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Did Max Redfield Change His Mind?
By Andrew Hall
Sep 22, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Lane Kiffin reacts during the game against the California Golden Bears at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC defeated California 27-9. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE
USC commitment Max Redfield always intended to visit Notre Dame before committing to USC in July. This weekend Redfield visited for the game against Stanford. Apparently, Redfield is now conflicted between the two schools. This opens up the possibility that Redfield will open up his recruitment in the near future.
Did Lane Kiffin’s plan backfire? According to multiple outlets, the USC coaching staff did not have any issue with Redfield visiting the Irish or any other school. Their stance was that USC was the best school in the country and that Redfield could do no better.
Now, Redfield is faced with a decision between two schools that he really likes. One thing that could come into play is USC’s scholarship constraints. Currently, USC has reached their max number of commitments for the 2013 class. However, the Trojans are still pursuing a number of other prospects. Therefore, could or would a few players shake loose and land in South Bend?
Redfield is ranked as the 3rd best safety and 31st overall by Rivals.com. He committed to USC on July 18th. The Notre Dame trip is his only official visit that Redfield has taken. Redfield has expressed interest in visiting other schools such as LSU or Washington. These visits have not been schedule up to this point.
Was this trip enough for Redfield to change his commitment? In the opinion of the staff at Slap the Sign, it is not likely. The most likely scenario is that USC pursues another player at the same position or takes a commitment from another player that would force the number of commitments over the max number of commitments for the Trojans. If USC were to do that then Notre Dame would definitely be the front runner for his services.
Currently, USC is still pursuing several big time recruits that theoretically would be “better” than Redfield. The Trojans are still closely involved with Leon McQuay III and Montravius Adams. There is a possibility that the scenario outlined above could occur. However, at this point, it seems unlikely.
Landing Max Redfield would be huge for the Fighting Irish. Redfield would add quality depth to a thinning position. Currently, Notre Dame has seven Safeties for 2013 season. They will only return two Safeties with proven talent in Matthias Farley and Austin Collinsworth. Nicky Baratti has shown that he can play and should be a solid backup. However, the remaining four Safeties will have not demonstrated that they can play. A commitment from Redfield would go a long way to filling out Notre Dame’s two deep at that position.
Until then, Notre Dame will wait and see what happens. Because it is unlikely that Redfield will commit, Notre Dame will need to continue pursuing other options at the Defensive Back position. Currently, the Irish are still recruiting several players in the secondary.