Notre Dame Fighting Irish news: Basketball, football recruiting, and Michael Mayer

Notre Dame athletics is full steam ahead, as there’s news on multiple fronts this morning regarding the men’s basketball and football teams.

Regarding game action, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team defeated Boston University by a score of 81-75. Cormac Ryan led the team in scoring as he was red-hot from downtown, pouring in 21 points while shooting 4-4 from beyond the arc. Trey Wertz also had a solid game going 6-12 from the field and adding 16 points with 3-6 from deep. In addition, freshman Ven-Allen Lubin had some stellar blocks, including a critical swat late in the game that helped salt away the victory.

The Notre Dame football team continues to be in the thick of a wild bowl, transfer, and recruiting season with nothing more notable than Michael Mayer’s NFL draft announcement. Mayer announced he will forego playing in the Gator Bowl against South Carolina to prepare for the NFL draft, something most fans long expected. But, in what was the best career for a tight-end ever at Notre Dame, Mayer will not soon be forgotten. We wish him the best of luck in his NFL career, wherever he ends up.

When one door closes, another opens, which happened in the form of a Brandyn Hillman commitment to the Notre Dame football program. On the same day Mayer announced his intentions, Hillman, an athlete out of Virginia, announced he was joining the Irish. Hillman is a late bloomer in the recruiting process but is a talented and supremely athletic two-way player. After not having many offers until late this season, Hillman chose the Irish over USC, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and others.

Jayden Limar, a current Notre Dame running back commit, has received a couple of forecasts to flip his commitment to Oregon. While I would love to see Limar stay in the class, it can’t be all that surprising. Given the depth the running back room currently has, as well as the two other running backs in his class, it seemed inevitable one would leave. Unfortunately, it seems as if that could happen sooner rather than later. If it doesn’t, I think Rees and Freeman could find playing time for all three at different spots on the field in their careers at Notre Dame.

With Drake Maye returning to North Carolina, the quarterback search is narrowed down ever-so-slightly. While he was a long shot, to begin with, the Irish would be wise to move quicker in landing a quarterback to add to their room. They may be gone before you know it.