Notre Dame running back recruiting updates: Top targets flock to South Bend
Fighting Irish running backs coach Lance Taylor has it rolling in recruiting at his position.
He already has commitments in the 2022 and 2023 classes, coming from four-stars Jadarian Price of Denison (Texas) High and Sedrick Irvin Jr. of Miami Gulliver Prep, respectively. Notre Dame hosted both for visits in October, with Irvin on hand in South Bend for the USC game and Price watching the Irish knock off North Carolina.
Notre Dame may not take a second running back in the 2022 cycle, but it seems that they will in 2023. Taylor and Co. had three huge targets on campus for the Oct. 23 rivalry showdown with the Trojans, a game the Irish won 31-16.
Family environment for Justice Haynes at Notre Dame
Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity’s Justice Haynes, the nation’s No. 1 running back and No. 17 overall prospect in the 2023 class per Rivals, visited Notre Dame over the summer and made sure to return to campus to see the Fighting Irish game-day atmosphere.
Haynes had good conversations with Taylor and head coach Brian Kelly during his visit Oct. 23.
“The visit was amazing; I loved it up there,” he said. “It’s definitely a place I can see myself playing at. Coach Taylor expressed how much he wants me in the class, and he thinks I can fit well at Notre Dame. Coach Taylor and I have built a really good relationship, and I really enjoy talking to him. He’s a really good dude; I really like him.
“The high point of the trip was the love that the coaches showed.”
Haynes’ father, Verron, played running back for the Georgia Bulldogs before several seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2002-07). His teammate for a few of those seasons with the Steelers was running back Jerome Bettis, who was a first-round selection in the 1993 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame.
Bettis and Haynes both reside in the Atlanta area, and their sons are good friends. Jerome Bettis Jr. is a high school freshman at Atlanta Westminster and has a promising future as an offensive athlete. All four were together in South Bend for the Oct. 23 visit.
Haynes looks up to the NFL Hall of Famer.
“My nickname is Bussy because of him,” Justice Haynes said of Jerome Bettis Sr. “That was the nickname he gave me — ‘Lil Bus.’ It stuck in my family.
“He’s a really good family friend; him and my dad golf all the time. He always gives me great advice and helps steer me in the right direction. Talking to him is great.”
Being at Notre Dame with the Bettis family was special to Haynes.
“It was really cool,” he said. “As soon as they got in, we spent the whole day with them. We chatted it up on the field before the game and sat together during it. It was a really good experience with them.”
Bettis isn’t necessarily recruiting Haynes to play at Notre Dame, but he’s certainly not swaying him away from it either.
“He told me that he wants what’s best for me,” Haynes added. “He obviously had great things to say about Notre Dame. He gave me advice on what to look for in a school.”
Haynes has quite the future ahead of him. He’s a blue-chip running back recruit with offers from the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and the list goes on.
He has enough going for him based on his talent alone, but Haynes also has two great mentors in his corner with his father and Bettis. They can teach him a thing or two about playing running back at the highest level, too.
“I have it really lucky,” Haynes said. “I’m really blessed and thankful for them.”
Haynes will take more visits to round out the fall and has no set timeline for making a college decision.
First Notre Dame visit a success for Jayden Limar
Notre Dame offered Lake Stevens (Wash.) High’s Jayden Limar, the No. 10 running back and No. 221 overall player in America, on Aug. 5. Right after he received the good news from the Irish staff, he and his family started working on setting up a game-day visit to South Bend.
They picked a pretty good one to go to when they saw the Irish knock off rival USC. And by all accounts, Limar had a great time on campus.
“It was really cool,” Limar said. “I got to check out the game and meet all of the coaches the first day. I loved the game atmosphere; the fans were into it and the student section was packed.”
Limar didn’t fly out until Monday morning, so he was able to spend Sunday to get a better feel of campus and talk more with the coaching staff.
“I was there all day and toured the football facilities and saw more of the campus,” he noted. “I met with Coach Taylor and Coach Kelly, and I talked with some of the academic people. It was a good time.
“Coach Taylor was exactly how I thought he would be. Over the phone, I could tell he’s a good person and is straight up with you. That’s how he was in person.”
Taylor has been leading the charge in Notre Dame’s recruitment of Limar, and the campus visit allowed for them to meet in person for the first time.
“He’s great at developing players, including Christian McCaffrey and others who are in the NFL now,” Limar said. “He told me that there’s a lot of aspects in my game that he can help me improve on. He can help me enhance the skills that I have. I can tell he’s a really genuine dude.”
Limar enjoyed his sit-down meeting with Kelly as well.
“He’s a cool guy,” Limar explained. “He’s very passionate about Notre Dame football. I love his attitude towards the game and academics. A lot of head coaches are probably just worried about football, but he was very clear on getting the best education and football at Notre Dame. You don’t have to choose one or the other if you go to Notre Dame.”
Director of offensive recruiting Dre Brown is a pivotal member of the Notre Dame staff, as he keeps in consistent, daily contact with the Irish’s top targets on his side of the ball, which includes Limar.
“I was with him basically the whole visit,” Linar said of Brown. “He’s the coach I talk to the most from there. He told me all about Coach Taylor and how he knows he’d be a coach for me.”
Limar plans to see in-state Washington soon and at some point take a trip down to the Grand Canyon State to see Arizona and Arizona State. The four-star prospect has offer from those three schools, plus the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and Utah.
The Fighting Irish have established themselves as a threat to land his commitment following his visit.
“They’re definitely a contender for me,” the 5-10, 181-pounder said. “I love the coaches and how Notre Dame runs the football. I liked my visit.”
Big Illinois running back makes another trip to South Bend
Notre Dame needs to give Kaden Feagin a permanent parking spot at this point.
By our count, the 6-3, 220-pound four-star running back from Arthur (Ill.) Lovington has visited Notre Dame five times since June.
He made it to South Bend three times over the summer – including at the end of July when he received the scholarship offer from Lance Taylor in person – and for two home games in October.
He saw the Irish fall to Cincinnati but rebound for their next home game against USC.
“The visit was great, and the experience was amazing,” Feagin said. “I talked to Coach Taylor a little bit and we were talking about my game [the night before] and how I played.”
“The game atmosphere was crazy,” Feagin continued. “The lights going out at the beginning of the game and at the end of the third quarter was really cool. Kyren [Williams] played a very big role since Chris [Tyree] was out, and he had a great game.”
Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin have offered Feagin thus far. His recruitment still seems to be in its early stages, but Notre Dame is up there for him.
“They are definitely one of my top schools,” he said.
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