Notre Dame has pulled off a hat trick of flips in the span of four days.
Notre Dame stole Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale cornerback Philip Riley from USC on Monday and added former Colorado commit and Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon kicker Joshua Bryan on Tuesday, and then huge news came out Thursday evening.
Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic offensive tackle Caleb Johnson has flipped his pledge from Auburn to Notre Dame, giving the Irish their fifth offensive line verbal in the 2021 cycle.
Johnson committed to Auburn in May shortly after the NCAA announced that it was extending its dead period through the summer, which his when the 6-7, 290-pounder planned to officially visit Notre Dame.
Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn told Johnson after his pledge that he would continue to recruit him, and the Irish eventually pulled off the flip.
“I think he’s a great offensive line coach,” Johnson previously said Quinn. “He knows how to coach his dudes. We’ve talked football with him, and he knows what he’s doing. He has some good players, and I feel like he could definitely develop me.”
Johnson grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind., before moving to Ocala, Fla., during the summer before his sophomore year. He still has plenty of family still in the Hoosier State and will call South Bend home for the next few years.
“Their academics are definitely what we’re looking for, and they’re good in football too,” Johnson added. “It’s the best of both worlds.”
Johnson is Notre Dame’s fifth offensive line commit, which has a strong case for the best blocking unit in the country. He joins Avon (Ind.) High’s Blake Fisher, Clarkston (Mich.) High’s Rocco Spindler, Fridley (Minn.) Totino-Grace’s Joe Alt and Chicago Marist’s Pat Coogan as offensive line verbals for the Irish.
Over the course of his recruiting process, Johnson held offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee and many others. In total, Rivals lists Johnson with 37 scholarship offers. Rivals ranks Johnson as the No. 58 player in Florida and the country’s No. 34 offensive tackle.
In eight games this season, Johnson has paved the way for Trinity Catholic (5-3) to rush for 185.3 yards per game, 6.3 yards per carry and 15 rushing scores. In 2019, his squad rushed for a whopping 3,159 yards in 12 games, which was good for 263.3 yards per game.
Johnson is Notre Dame's 23rd verbal commitment of the 2021 class, which is currently ranked No. 10 in the country by Rivals.
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