At this point, it should just be assumed that Notre Dame will be at Weddington High School in Matthews, N.C. when the coaches are allowed on the road recruiting.
Several big time college programs will be in to see Will Shipley, the No. 33 recruit nationally and No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2021 class, on Friday, when the dead period lifts and the contact period is back in full swing.
According to Blue & Gold Illustrated's sources, Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor will be back in the Charlotte area Friday to stop in at Shipley's school.
Taylor is a regular at Weddington High, making stops in to see Shipley last spring, during the bye week in October, which came right after the talented running back's Notre Dame visit for the USC game, and twice in December as well.
According to our count, this will be Taylor's sixth in-person interaction with Shipley, who is a major target for the Irish, assuming they get to bump into each other Friday.
Shipley has a long list of scholarship offers and hasn't narrowed down his recruitment to a smaller list of schools just yet, although it's expected that he will do so in the near future.
Notre Dame will make Shipley's top list and the Irish made a big impression on the 5-11, 200-pound four-star recruit while he was on campus in October.
"Notre Dame is going to play a role in my recruitment," Shipley said. "This visit let me put a face to a name, and it definitely helped Notre Dame in a good way."
He met three of Notre Dame's commits in the 2021 class and really connected with them.
"I absolutely loved getting to spend time with them," said Shipley. "I got to catch up with Tyler Buchner, which was great. I got to meet Blake Fisher and Gabriel Rubio-- two great dudes. That class is really something else; the best I've talked to in the 2021 class."
Shipley was named the Gatorade Player Of The Year in North Carolina after a sensational junior season. He ran for 2,066 yards and 30 touchdowns, plus 582 receiving yards and eight more scores, to lead Weddington to back-to-back 3A North Carolina state championships.
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