On Dec. 11, 2019, Football Scoop reported that Chip Long was unlikely to return to Notre Dame as its offensive coordinator. Long, who coached for the Fighting Irish from 2017-19, also served as the team’s tight ends coach.
He was Notre Dame’s primary recruiter for Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County tight end Cane Berrong, a four-star class of 2021 prospect who committed to the Fighting Irish last summer. When Long departed from the Notre Dame football program, nearly three months went by until Brian Kelly announced a new tight ends coach.
Notre Dame hired John McNulty, who comes to South Bend following a short stint at Penn State as an analyst last year. He was Rutgers’ offensive coordinator in 2018 and has spent most of his coaching career in the NFL.
Within 30 minutes of McNulty being announced by Notre Dame, he was on the phone with Berrong, kick off their relationship. Over the past few weeks, Berrong has been pleased regarding his connection with his future coach.
“It’s been good,” Berrong said. “It kind of sucked for those months not having a tight ends coach. But now that he’s been hired, I’ve been able to build a relationship with him.
“He says he loves my film and can’t wait for me to come up there and visit again. He’s just a really good guy.”
Berrong should be considered rock solid in his pledge to the Irish. His plan is to graduate from Hart County early and enroll at Notre Dame in January 2021.
“I feel great about my commitment,” Berrong added. “I just want to keep building that relationship with Coach McNulty.”
Berrong talks on the phone probably once or twice a week with McNulty, and he and his family regularly communicate with the staff as well via text message.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees reaches out to Berrong, and their relationship has really kick started since being named offensive coordinator back in January.
“We connect really well,” Berrong said. “I like how our conversations go. He’s on the younger side, and we connect well.”
Before McNulty was hired and Rees was promoted, Berrong kept in contact with running backs coach Lance Taylor and special teams coordinator Brian Polian, who visited his high school in January.
“I was able to talk to Coach Taylor on the phone, and him and Coach Polian were the guys I talked to after Coach Long left,” Berrong explained. “They made sure I was alright during that process. Coach Polian coming to my school meant a lot.”
Since Long’s departure, Berrong has picked up offers from Arkansas, Oregon and USC. He announced those offers on social media, not out of interest in those schools, but more out of gratitude and to put more of a spotlight on his small city in Northeast Georgia.
Berrong also clears all of his recruiting decisions with his high school head coach Rance Gillespie, a former offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern, to make sure he is going about things the right way.
“Not really many people in my town get blessings like that,” Berrong said about receiving scholarship offers. “I’m just thankful. I want to leave a legacy in my town.”
Notre Dame is reasonably active in the state of Georgia, and Berrong keeps in touch with some Irish targets. He has trained on a few occasions with Atlanta Pace Academy wide receiver Jayden Thomas and hopes that the four-star recruit joins him in South Bend.
Berrong would love if Athens (Ga.) Academy wide receiver Deion Colzie would rejoin Notre Dame’s 2021 class.
“Me and him are close,” Berrong said of Colzie. “It sucked to see him decommit, but I’m still going to talk to him.”
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