Notre Dame recruiting: Defensive back offers from Wednesday

There was Notre Dame recruiting news that came out of South Bend yesterday during a time where news has been slow due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There hasn’t been a lot of positivity the past couple weeks with the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on a global scale. This crisis has also been causing a major ripple effect in regard to the Notre Dame recruiting efforts.

— On Wednesday though, newly acquired safeties coach Mike Mickens, along with defensive backs coach Terry Joseph,  handed out a slew of offers to some talented prospects that could wind up as an integral part of the 2021 Notre Dame recruiting class.

Here are the offers:

2021 Sam Jackson from Illinois.

Position: Cornerback

Height: 5’11

Weight: 170 pounds

Rankings:

Composite four-star (.8935)
335th in the Nation

25th ranked ATH

7th overall in Illinois

Jackson holds 17 offers from the likes of Boston College, Wisconsin, Oregon and more.

– 2021 Philip Riley from Florida

Position: Cornerback

Height: 6’1

Weight: 190 pounds

Rankings:

Composite three-star (.8900)
349th in the Nation

26th ranked CB

58th overall in Florida

Riley holds 31 offers from the likes of Florida State, Washington, Penn State and many more.

https://twitter.com/riley18philip/status/1242857293487669248?s=21

– 2021 Terrion Arnold from Florida.

Position: Safety

Height: 6’2

Weight: 185

Rankings:

Composite four-star (.8950)
326th in the Nation

16th ranked Safety

51st overall in Florida

Arnold holds 40 offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and many more top programs.

– 2021 Ryan Barnes from Maryland

Position: Cornerback

Height: 6’2

Weight: 175 pounds

Rankings:

Composite three-star (.8628)
557th in the Nation

44th ranked CB

19th overall in Maryland

Barnes holds 29 offers from Tennessee, Penn State, Clemson and many more.

*On Tuesday Notre Dame also added another defensive back offer to their 2021 recruiting class by extending an offer to Zakee Wheatley from Maryland.  The offer to Wheatley was the fifth offer the Irish made to a defensive back in a 24-hour span.*

With the secondary being a key area the Irish need to add some coveted talent to, it looks like Mickens is finding some of the guys he’d like to add to the secondary room in South Bend. However, even with Notre Dame safety commit Justin Walters already in the fold, I would still expect a few more offers to continue to go out to defensive backs once things start to settle down and get back to normal.

Don’t get me wrong these newly offered recruits have some really positive upside that we have come to expect from Notre Dame recruits of late, and a few that should have the Irish near the top of their list until it’s decision time. That said, the staff can’t continue to miss on top defensive back targets. As a result, I  hope they continue to evaluate the position heavily in an effort to land some of the recruits that are high on their boards.

I would also expect the number to be 4-5 total defensive backs in this 2021 Notre Dame recruiting class. The combination of Joesph and Mickens should provide a significant boost for Notre Dame when it comes to recruiting top targets for their secondary, something the Irish have needed for quite some time. For now, they just need to get their recruits on campus and see how it unfolds from there.