National Signing Day 2014: Notre Dame Football Live Thread
By Andrew Hall
Notre Dame Football Recruiting
Signing Day has become a national holiday for college football fans. ESPN now offers wall-to-wall coverage the entire day. UND.com gets on the air at 7 a.m. and does not stop until Brian Kelly’s press conference.
The Irish are currently ranked 8th in Rivals.com’s 2014 team rankings. In 2013, the Fighting Irish finished 3rd. Notre Dame’s worst class was in 2012 when the Irish finished at the 20th spot.
Here are today’s announcements:
- Daniel Cage – 12 p.m. ET – Finalists: Michigan State & Notre Dame
- Terrence Alexander – 9:30 a.m. ET (ESPNU) – Finalists: Stanford & Notre Dame
- Michiah Quick – 6 p.m. ET – Finalists: Oklahoma, Notre Dame & UCLA
- John “JuJu” Smith – 4 p.m. ET (ESPNU) – Finalists: USC, Notre Dame & Oregon
- Courtney Garnett* – Finalists: Notre Dame & Oklahoma
*Although Garnett is slated to sign with the Sooners on National Signing Day, he could easily sign with the Irish. However, there will be no formal announcement with two hats on the table.
Please feel free to comment below about the days events and we will be happy to respond and interact with you!
National Signing Day Updates
Update 6:45 a.m. – National Signing Day Coverage will begin shortly. Check out our final predictions for the day Here
Update 6:49 a.m. – Winton Woods HS is closed today. Could delay the announcement of Defensive Tackle Daniel Cage.
Update 7:18 a.m. – According to ISD’s Twitter, Cage is expected to fax in his LOI within in hour instead of announcing at noon.
Updated 7:24 a.m. – Kicker Tyler Newsome has signed his letter of intent.
Update 7:30 a.m. – DT Daniel Cage signed with Notre Dame according to his high school coach.
Update 7:53 a.m. – OL Jimmy Bryne has signed with Notre Dame.
Update 7:58 a.m. – WR Corey Holmes has signed his letter of intent.
Update 7:59 a.m. – DE/OLB Jhonny Williams has faxed his LOI to Notre Dame.
Update 8:06 a.m. – OL Sam Mustipher signs with the Irish.
Update 8:12 a.m. – QB DeShone Kizer has faxed and his LOI to Notre Dame.
Update 8:15 a.m. – DE/OLB Jonathan Bonner signs his LOI with Notre Dame.
Update 8:23 a.m. – Brian Kelly with be on ESPNU at 8:30
Update 8:27 a.m. – LB Greer Martini & OL Alex Bars have sent their LOIS to South Bend.
Update 8:40 a.m. – LB Nile Sykes signed his letter of intent and faxed it in from Texas where he is playing for Team USA.
Update 8:50 a.m. – DL Jay Hayes has signed with Notre Dame.
Update 8:53 a.m. – DT Peter Mokwuah faxed in his letter of intent.
Update 12:00 p.m. – Irish also signed DL Grant Blankenship, LB Kolin Hill, TE Tyler Luatua, LB Nyles Morgan, OL Quenton Nelson, DB Drue Tranquill, CB Nick Watkins and TE Nic Weishar.
Update 12:10 p.m. – “I like the fact this has come together in terms of depth across the board–18 players were in top 15 of their position group” – Brian Kelly
Update 12:11 p.m. – “These young men had to have a passion for getting a degree as well as winning a national championship.” – Brian Kelly
Update 12:30 p.m. – Watching DeShone Kizer’s highlights makes me believe he might be the best out of Golson, Zaire and Barnett.
Update 12:41 p.m. – Wonder if they will address the John “Juju” Smith situation. Probably not since they cannot address potential student athletes.
Update 12:46 p.m. – Kelly would have serious reservations about recruiting a 3-and-out guy to Notre Dame.
Update 12:49 p.m. – Players need to be mentally ready because most are physically ready to play.
Update 12:56 p.m. – “We’re open to go beyond the 23 we have right now.” – Brian Kelly. He clearly does not know where Quick and Smith are headed or he knows they are headed to ND.
Update 1:09 p.m. – Michiah Quick was supposed to decide at 6:00 p.m. but finished it early and signed with Oklahoma.
Update 1:14 p.m. – The 5th year players will be Luke Massa, Justin Utupo, Christian Lombard, Austin Collinsworth and Kendall Moore.
Update 1:17 p.m. – Press Conference is over.
Update 3:20 p.m. – Only one announcement left, John “JuJu” Smith. Twitter reports suggests down to Oregon and USC. Would not be surprised just confused about the LOI received date on that accidental page.
Update 4:03 p.m. – JuJu Smith to USC. This ends the 2014 recruiting cycle.