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Georgia Is On Notre Dame's Mind For Football Recruiting

Running back Darius Walker came from Georgia to enjoy a stellar Irish career from 2004-06.
Running back Darius Walker came from Georgia to enjoy a stellar Irish career from 2004-06. (Notre Dame Media Relations)

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This week’s verbal commitment from Marietta, Ga., safety Derrik Allen, ranked the nation’s No. 36 player overall by Rivals.com for the 2018 recruiting class, continued a pattern of Notre Dame making inroads into the state of Georgia.

Beyond the “Big 3” of California, Florida and Texas, the Peach State, along with Louisiana, might be the most coveted nationally for big-time football talent. Notre Dame's scheduling of regular season games in 2017 (home) and 2019 (away) versus the University of Georgia is expected to facilitate that goal, and it doesn’t hurt to have Georgia Tech in the ACC either.

Similar to Louisiana, it’s never going to be easy for Notre Dame to recruit in SEC country against that league’s powers, but reeling in one per year in the talent-rich area shouldn’t be unrealistic either. Four or five Georgia natives on the Notre Dame roster in any given year could become the norm. This past year’s scholarship roster for the Fighting Irish included five, led by captain/defensive lineman Isaac Rochell (McDonough) and punter Tyler Newsome (Carrollton).

For context, before the year 2000 Notre Dame had not yet seen 20 players from Georgia suit up in game action for the Fighting Irish.

However, in the 17 recruiting classes since 2001, Notre Dame has signed a minimum of one player from Georgia in 12 of them, most recently safety/rover Spencer Perry (Newman), although he later transferred to Florida’s IMG Academy to play his high school football.

Highly touted defensive end prospect Robert Beal (Suwanee) gave an original pledge to the 2017 Irish haul before flipping to the in-state Bulldogs, which is the main battle always confronted in SEC land. Signing Allen next February would be a significant coup.

Defensive backs have been the most prominent area from Georgia the past 20 years at Notre Dame, and Allen well could be the best of them. Others have included Mike Richardson (Warner Robins, 2002-06), Ivory Covington (Decatur, 1994-97) and Jamoris Slaughter (Stone Mountain, 2008-12), whose career was slowed by injuries.

Continuing to assert a presence in Georgia is important to Notre Dame. Here is countdown of the top 10 all-time players from there that donned an Irish uniform:


10. Adrian Jarrell (Athens, 1989-93)

He caught the game-winning TD in traffic with 1:40 left to defeat Michigan in 1990, and followed the next week with the “Immaculate Deflection” in the final minute to set up the 20-19 win at Michigan State. In the 1993 victory versus No. 1 Florida State, Jarrell scored on a 32-yard reverse and also had a 58-yard punt, another area where he helped.


9. Dusty Zeigler (Rincon, 1992-95)

A starter at center his junior year and then at guard as a senior captain, Zeigler went on to a seven-year career in the NFL, the longest so far by a Notre Dame player from Georgia.


8. Jabari Holloway (Riverdale, 1997-2000)

Another captain from the Peach State, the engineering major’s 37 career starts at tight end netted 41 receptions that averaged 16.9 yards per catch and seven TDs. The fourth-round pick was on the roster but an inactive member on New England’s 2002 Super Bowl champs.


7. Ken Adamson (Atlanta, 1957-59)

A starter at center and on defense, he was the first of six Notre Dame players from Georgia to be named captain, serving as the lone one for first-year coach Joe Kuharich’s 1959 team that finished No. 17 in the AP. He was third in tackles as a junior (53) and second as a senior (84).

6. Isaac Rochell (McDonough, 2013-16)

Three-year starter at end, tackle and even nose guard recorded 167 tackles for the Irish, 22 for lost yardage. He was the sixth Notre Dame player from Georgia to be selected a captain.


5. Stephon Tuitt (Monroe, 2011-13)

The first Notre Dame defensive lineman ever to earn first-team All-America recognition as a sophomore from at least two outlets (ESPN and Sports Illustrated), Tuitt also was a second-team AP pick in 2012. Drafted in the second round after his junior year, he might have topped this list with a knockout senior campaign.


4. TJ Jones (Gainesville, 2010-13)

The 2014 Team MVP (70 catches, 15.8 yards per catch and nine touchdowns, plus two other scores off runs) finished his career second on Notre Dame’s all-time receiving chart with 181. He tied Tyler Eifert for the team lead in receptions (50) during the 2012 campaign that earned a berth to the BCS Championship, and it helped lead to a captaincy in 2013.


3. Wes Pritchett (Atlanta, 1982-85)

Although overshadowed on defense by fellow “Amigos” and first-team All-Americans Frank Stams and Michael Stonebreaker, middle linebacker Pritchett paced the 1988 national champs in tackles with 112 while providing tremendous toughness and a physical presence with his 6-6, 251-pound frame.


1t. Jim Carroll (Atlanta, 1962-64) & Darius Walker (Lawrenceville, 2004-06)

One for defense and one for offense.

Carroll was the lone captain and Team MVP of the “Resurrection” campaign in 1964 under first-year head coach Ara Parseghian. The All-American’s 140 tackles at linebacker that year were 52 more than anyone else. As a sophomore and junior, he started at both offensive guard and linebacker, recording 59 tackles each season.

Walker set the freshman rushing record at Notre Dame (786 yards), which was broken in 2015 by Josh Adams. Walker thereafter was a centerpiece of new head coach Charlie Weis’ prolific offenses in 2005-06 that helped lead the Irish to back-to-back BCS bids. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards each year — one of four Irish backs ever to accomplish that in consecutive years — and his 109 career receptions are the second-most ever by an Irish back. He turned pro after his junior year but was not drafted.

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