For the second offseason in a row, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was tasked with replacing a Fighting Irish legend on his coaching staff.
In 2019, running backs coach Autry Denson — the program’s all-time leader in rushing yards — left Notre Dame to become the head coach at Charleston Southern University. This past winter, it was cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght, a two-time consensus All-American with the Irish, exiting the program to be closer to his family in Southern California.
The goal when finding replacements for both assistants was to bring on coaches that could both develop players (a strength for Denson and Lyght) while also recruiting at a high level (a weakness for Denson and Lyght).
We saw new running backs coach Lance Taylor hit a home run during his first summer when he earned the commitment of all-purpose back Chris Tyree, who was heavily courted by Alabama, Oklahoma and others.
But what about Lyght’s replacement Mike Mickens? Until Monday, the jury was still out.
But then Mickens landed a commitment from Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale four-star cornerback Philip Riley, a player with the ideal physical makeup to play the boundary for Notre Dame one day.
Based on following his Twitter account, we can safely decipher that Mickens was elated.
Are Notre Dame fans also channeling their inner P. Diddy and shouting “Let’s Go!” while rocking a leopard-print jacket?
They damn well should be.
This is an impressive get for Mickens and Fighting Irish coaching staff, including pass game coordinator Terry Joseph, defensive coordinator Clark Lea and Kelly, each of which assisted in Riley’s recruitment.
Riley Is A Big-Time Prospect
Riley may not be the borderline five-star prospect Tyree was once considered, but over the course of a two-month period this spring Riley received offers from more than 25 Power Five programs, which included USC, Texas, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Miami, Florida State, Penn State and Clemson.
The Clemson offer is particularly eye-popping because the Tigers are the current gold standard when it comes to college football recruiting. When evaluating players, their coaching staff focuses on culture and talent, which is why Clemson offers such a limited number of prospects each cycle.
Outside of Stanford, Clemson has offered the fewest number of players in the class of 2021 among Power Five schools.
Famed recruiting analyst Tom Lemming couldn't agree more that this is a big pickup for the Fighting Irish, referring to Riley as a “lockdown corner, with loose hips and quick feet.”
Riley also fits the physical dimensions of what Notre Dame is looking for in a cornerback recruit. He is 6-0 and already 190 pounds, has long arms and has played wide receiver in the past. At this point in time, he still needs to mature physically and develop his technique, but that is not necessarily a demerit.
According to Rivals Florida analyst Rob Cassidy, “Notre Dame has a ball of clay and can mold him how they want.”
It Takes the Sting Out Of Missing On Will Shipley
Less than 40 minutes after Matthews (N.C.) Weddington class of 2021 running back Will Shipley — a top-of-the-board target for the Fighting Irish — announced his commitment to Clemson, Riley unexpectedly made his pledge to Notre Dame.
In terms of recruiting rankings, Riley — a nationally unranked four-star recruit — is well behind Shipley, the No. 36 overall player in the country. But Riley still brings as much value, if not more, to Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class.
As BlueandGold.com’s Mike Singer pointed out in last week’s mailbag, running back is still a position of need in 2021 without Shipley, but Notre Dame still landed the aforementioned Tyree last cycle and depth is not a major concern at the position. On the other hand, there was no bigger miss in 2020 than at cornerback.
After Danville (Ky.) Boyle County three-star cornerback Landen Bartleson was released from his letter of intent due to a serious off-the-field incident, Notre Dame was left with just three 2020 defensive back recruits, all of them three-stars with high ceilings but low floors.
In fact, because Noah Boykin transferred to Massachusetts last summer, the only former four-star cornerback that was expected to still be on the roster in 2021 is Isaiah Rutherford, a very talented player, but one who primarily played running back in high school.
Recruiting rankings are not necessarily the deciding factor (TaRiq Bracy has certainly shown more promise than your typical three-star recruit), but a program of Notre Dame’s stature must do better.
Riley gives Notre Dame the cornerback commit it needs to build the rest of the class off of. Top-tier recruits want to play with other great players, and the Fighting Irish now have that foundation in Riley.
Riley Has Never Visited Campus
We saw the impact that the canceled March 21 visit had on the recruitments of top-tier prospects such as offensive tackle Landon Tengwall (now a Penn State commit) and Shipley, which makes it even more incredible that Notre Dame and Mickens were able to earn a pledge from Riley, a four-star cornerback with 38 offers who has never visited campus.
Singer also recently reported that Notre Dame would be evaluating whether or not a recruit can commit without visiting on a case-by-case basis, which is only a possibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So his commitment doesn’t happen this early without Notre Dame believing he has immense potential and seeing him as a clear program fit.
The timeline was also incredibly fast. Riley had indicated on Twitter that he wanted to commit by Aug. 1, but Mickens and the Notre Dame staff got Riley on board about 45 days after offering him and less than three months after Mickens was officially announced as the new cornerback coach.
Between Notre Dame’s offer and his commitment, nine other Power Five programs also asked Riley for his services and he even publically thanked Oregon for hosting a virtual visit on Easter Sunday, so it is not as if other programs were not heavily pursuing him. He was also able to visit Oregon State and Florida State before social distancing guidelines swept the nation.
What allowed Notre Dame to standout amidst the flurry of offers Riley received in February and March?
He is mentioned Notre Dame’s top-notch academics and history of winning national championships as significant factors, but those same elements are communicated to every player the Fighting Irish offer and most of them don’t ever sign, let alone commit without ever taking a visit.
That is why much of the credit has to go to Mickens and the entire Notre Dame staff. They are looking for at least one more cornerback this cycle and, if Riley’s unique commitment is any indication of Mickens’ recruiting chops, Notre Dame fans are in for an exciting ride.
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