Notre Dame football got a huge commitment on Monday, as coveted cornerback Philip Riley made the decision, again, to join the Irish.
Notre Dame football fans should be familiar with the name Philip Riley, because the one-time commit backed off his pledge from the Irish just a couple months ago. The 2020 cornerback out of Florida is now back in the class, bolstering the Irish’s recruiting class.
After he de-commited from the Irish back in September, he actually joined USC’s class and has been a commit for the last month. Obviously, the staff continued to stay in touch and made it known he was still welcomed back. Cornerback coach Mike Mickens especially, stayed on him the entire time through zoom, texts and calls and social media, as well as the current commits that had started to bond with him when he was once apart of the class the first time.
The success on the field for Notre Dame is proving to be a key part in the remaining spots in the class as well. Of course, academics were also a big factor here, and was always going to make Riley and his family feel comfortable enough to pull the trigger for the Irish again without getting him to campus.
At the moment, Philip Riley holds 41 offers from the likes of Virginia Tech, Washington, Clemson, USC and many more.
Notre Dame football lands coveted cornerback Philip Riley, again
Recap of what will Philip Riley bring to South Bend:
The 6’0 190 pounds corner is an ideal lockdown corner. He has nice length and isn’t afraid to get up in your face and display solid press coverage. He has great instincts, which is what really draws my attention, and also finds the ball in the air extremely well and hawks it down.
Riley is really smooth in transition and has a great reaction when the ball comes his way. No doubt he can be on an island with anyone on the field and stay hip to hip with them. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he came into South Bend and made an instant impact, he’s a really good player and the Irish got back a key part to this class.
With Riley now back in the fold, the Irish have 20 commitments, ten on offense and ten on defense. Riley rejoins safety commit Justin Walters and cornerbacks Chance Tucker, Ryan Barnes and Lorenzo Styles Jr. in the secondary group.
I could definitely see the Irish staff trying to add another guy to the defensive back room though. Expect the staff to once again treat Riley as an uncommitted top prospect because of how valuable he was before his de-commitment the first time at corner and now that he’s back in the fold.
What a outstanding job this was by Mickens, Joseph and Lea to get him back where he belongs. Don’t be surprised to see Riley flying up the recruiting rankings. He definitely has the tools to be the best secondary player in the class to date.