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Notre Dame Recruiting Week In Review: May 8-14

Welcome to BGI's newest weekly feature: the Notre Dame Recruiting Week In Review. Here, we'll lay out all the happenings from the past week in Irish recruiting in one story. Every Monday morning, you'll get a look at any commitments, new offers, visits and other recruiting news from the previous week.

First, take a look at BGI's Hot Boards to see where Notre Dame stands with some of its top targets. These are updated daily, and are the best place to get up-to-the-minute updates on each of Notre Dame targets. HOT BOARDS.

The spring evaluation period is still going on, and Notre Dame coaches once again spread out across the country this week in search of more 2018 prospects to add to the class.

COACHES ON THE ROAD

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Special teams coach Brian Polian was in familiar territory last week as he headed to Hawaii to check in some prospects in the Aloha State.

Polian stopped by St. Louis high school in Honolulu to check on four-star 2019 DT Faatui Tuitele, who reported an Irish offer that same day.

Polian also dropped in on four-star 2019 OT Enokk Vahimi of Kahuku (Hawaii) High. Vahimi is yet to land an Irish offer, but is intrigued by Notre Dame and is hoping to communicate more with the staff going forward.


Before heading to Hawaii, Polian also spent some time in Washington, where he checked in on four-star 2018 cornerback Kyler Gordon of Everett (Wash.) Archbishop Murphy. Gordon is high on Notre Dame and working on setting up a visit to South Bend.

Polian also saw Seattle Garfield ATH Tre'Shaun Harrison. Sources close to Harrison have indicated that he likes Notre Dame and is actively working on setting up a visit.

Daniel Arias, a three-star receiver from Mill Creek (Wash.) Jackson also got a visit from Polian this week.

On May 8, Polian was in Portland, Ore, the home of four-star OLB Eli'Jah Winston and four-star WR commit Braden Lenzy.

Offensive coordinator Chip Long made his way down to Texas this week to check in on a couple Irish targets on both sides of the ball.

On Tuesday, Long was at Conroe (Texas) Oak Ridge to visit three-star DE Joseph Ossai. Though it appears Texas schools may have an edge, people in Ossai's camp have said they would like to visit South Bend at some point.

Oak Ridge is also the home of 2019 OL Tyler Johnson, who also holds a Notre Dame offer.

On Thursday, Long dropped by Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point to watch four-star TE Mustapha Muhammad's scrimmage. Muhammad is considered a heavy Michigan lean, but continues to state he will eventually visit Notre Dame, possibly for Irish Invasion.

On Thursday, defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator Mike Elston headed to Kentucky to check in on one of Notre Dame's top targets in the class of 2019 in Jacob Lacey.

Lacey, a Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren product, has visited Notre Dame numerous times, and will likely return for Irish Invasion.

On Monday, Elston was at Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy to see three-star DE Jayson Oweh. Oweh landed an Irish offer a week later.

Other staff visits last week included 2019 four-star Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne safety Brian Williams, three-star 2018 Independence (Mo.) William Chrisman DE Daniel Carson and 2019 Wichita (Kan.) Northwest DE Marcus Hicks.

NEW OFFERS

The Skinny: Notre Dame had been eyeing the Murfreesboro running back for several weeks before pulling the trigger on an offer May 10. Teague told Blue & Gold in April he would be interested in the Irish if an offer were to ever come. Getting Teague on campus is the next step for the staff. Teague put up big numbers as a junior rushing for 2,031 yards and 24 touchdowns on 242 carries.

The Skinny: Notre Dame offered Waddle on May 10 just a few weeks before he is planning to release his top 10 (May 30). The four-star told Blue & Gold that the Irish may sneak into his final group. He admitted he doesn't know a ton about the program, but will be doing more research. Waddle called the offer "big."

Top 10 Dropping Soon, Four-Star WR Jaylen Waddle Considering Irish Offer

The Skinny: Notre Dame has been relatively quiet on the offensive line recruiting front in recent months focusing on a small number of targets, but extended an offer May 11 to Walker. The Rivals250 talent released a top six in April of Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech, so it is unclear if the offer impacts his recruitment in any way. Walker is the 8th tackle in the class of 2018 to land a Notre Dame offer, and the 11th overall offensive lineman.

The Skinny: In the past two weeks, Notre Dame has extended offers to three class of 2019 four-star quarterbacks with the Houston St. Pius X signal caller being the latest.

“That was amazing,” Gunnell told Blue & Gold. “It’s really intriguing. I really want to go out there and talk to them and see what they have to offer.”

According to MaxPreps, Gunnell threw for 4,973 yards and 65 touchdowns as a sophomore, and also had 389 yards rushing and five touchdowns on the ground.

The Irish coaching staff has been hot on the trail of class of 2019 quarterbacks, with Gunnell being the third to land an offer in the span of a week along with four-stars Bo Nix and Spencer Rattler.

Gunnell is the 39th overall player and fourth quarterback in the class of 2019 to land an offer from the Irish. He holds offers from Alabama,, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Oregon, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas State and UCLA, among others.

Four-Star 2019 QB Grant Gunnell Intrigued By Notre Dame Offer

The Skinny: The Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic 2019 outside linebacker added an offer from Notre Dame on May 10.

Osafo-Mensah also holds offers from Baylor, Georgia, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC and Utah. Overall, Osafo-Mensah is the 38th player to land an offer from the Irish in the class of 2019 and the third outside linebacker.

“Notre Dame is a school that I’ve always been incredibly interested in,” Osafo-Mensah said. “Going to school in Texas is one thing, but I’ve always thought about going outside of Texas, and Notre Dame is one of those schools.”

Defensive coordinator Mike Elko extended the offer to the sophomore. Osafo-Mensah also mentioned he is likely to attend Notre Dame’s Irish Invasion on June 10 in order to check out the program.

2019 OLB NaNa Osafo-Mensah Lands 'Unbelievable' Offer From Notre Dame

The Skinny: Notre Dame offered Tuitele on May 12 joining the likes of Oregon, Ole Miss, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and several others.

“I’m really excited for this offer,” Tuitele said to Blue & Gold. “Notre Dame is a great university.

“When I think about Notre Dame, I think about their football program,” Tuitele said. “They’ve always got to draft picks coming out. When you think of Notre Dame…. it’s just wow.”

Tuitele is booked this summer with visits, but plans to make it Notre Dame next summer to check out the Irish program. The defensive tackle was one of the first 100 players in the 2019 class to earn a star ranking and rating from Rivals.

2019 Four-Star Hawaii DT Faatui Tuitele Impressed With Irish, Brian Polian

The Skinny: On May 9, Notre Dame joined an impressive list of offers for Stripling which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas and Texas A&M.

“They’re not just for sports,” Stripling told Blue & Gold about Notre Dame. “They have a really good education program. It’s world class.

“I need a good education to be successful in life,” Stripling said. “Education comes before sports.”

Stripling, one of the first 100 class of 2019 prospects to be given a star rating by Rivals, stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 240 pounds.

Four-Star 2019 DE Marcus Stripling Planning Summer Visit To Notre Dame

The Skinny: Green became the 40th overall player in the class of 2019 to land an Irish offer on May 10 and the just the 2nd offensive lineman.

The Texas talent was one of the first 100 prospects in the class of 2019 to be given a star rating by Rivals. Green, a four-star prospect, committed to LSU on December 11, but has since picked up offers from Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, UCLA, Florida, and now Notre Dame.

The Skinny: Notre Dame extended an offer May 8 to the LSU commit.

Hampton committed to the Tigers on July 13, 2016 over offers from Louisville, Memphis, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt.

According to MaxPreps, Hampton recorded 34 receptions as a sophomore for 469 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games, while also grabbing four interceptions on defense.

The 5-foot-11, 190 pounder is the 37th player in the class of 2019 and fourth player classified as an athlete to be offered by the Irish.

BGI RECRUITING ROAD TRIP - MID ATLANTIC EDITION 

Last week, BGI recruiting reporter Corey Bodden was in the Mid-Atlantic visiting some top Notre Dame targets to conduct video interviews at their schools. Chekc out the interviews at the links below.

Three-star 2018 DT Ja'mion Franklin
Four-star 2018 DE Thomas Booker
Four-star 2018 DT P.J. Mustipher
Four-star 2018 rover Shayne Simon
Four-star 2018 DT Jaysom Ademilola - ND commit
Three-star 2018 DE Justin Ademilola - ND commit

PODCAST - WHAT'S NEXT AT LB 

NEWS AND NOTES

***Four-star Irish RB commit Markese Stepp competed at the Rivals Three Stripe Camp in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday. Read his thoughts on the performance HERE. BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell has Stepp rated as the No. 1 RB on his 2018 BIG BOARD.

***Tyreke Smith, a four-star DE from Cleveland Heights (Ohio) High said he is planning to visit Notre Dame for the Irish Invasion in June. BGI caught up with him following the Rivals Camp in Columbus, which you can read HERE.

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