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SIGNED: DE Howard Cross

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Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional defensive end Howard Cross has submitted his National Letter of Intent to Notre Dame.

RANKINGS

Rivals: 4.0 stars (No. 8 prospect in New Jersey and No. 27 strongside defensive end nationally)
BGI Grade: 3.5
Upside Grade: 4.0

STATISTICS

SENIOR SEASON: Notched 76 stops, 22.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
JUNIOR SEASON: Recorded 103 tackles, 10 stops for loss and 5.5 sacks.
SOPHOMORE SEASON: Registered 39 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks.

HONORS

Named Gatorade’s 2018 New Jersey Football Player of the Year.
NJ.com’s 2018 Player of the Year.
NJ.com All-State first-team selection on defense.
Selected to the 2017 ALL-USA New Jersey first-team defense by USA Today High School Sports.
NJ.com third-team all-state selection on defense in 2017.

RECRUITMENT

Power Five Offers: Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Virginia Tech

In the span of less than a month, Cross went from a prospect without an Irish offer to a Notre Dame commit.

Cross picked up an offer from defensive line coach Mike Elston April 3 and made his first trip to South Bend during the weekend of the program's annual Blue-Gold Game. That was all he needed to see.

After seeing everything up close, Cross felt Notre Dame had everything he was looking for in a school and there was no reason to prolong a decision announcing a commitment on the Sunday after the spring game (April 22).

Cross has remained firm in his Irish pledge since.

NOTABLE

Son of former 13-year NFL tight end Howard Cross, who played his entire career with the New York Giants.
Helped lead St. Joseph Regional to a Non-Public Group Four state title, shutting out Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic 13-0 — which had not been done in almost three decades.

2019 PROJECTION

Expect Cross to redshirt as a true freshman in 2019.

BGI ANALYSIS

I often talk about how Notre Dame prefers length on defense, but length isn't why the Irish staff went after Cross. That is the one area that drags his grade down, with Cross checking in at 6-2 and 240 pounds. He is also not an elite athlete, but when it comes to production at the prep level and intangibles it is easy to see why he was a guy the Irish staff liked. His hustle and motor are also traits to like.

His game is similar to that of former Notre Dame starting end Jay Hayes. At this point Cross is a run heavy defender that has the power, attitude and hustle to handle himself quite well in the run game. During his junior season — against a very competitive schedule — Cross racked up 103 tackles and 10 tackles for loss, and he added another 22.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks as a senior.

Cross has a thick, stout frame and adding weight shouldn't be an issue. The only question is can he add it and either maintain or, hopefully, add to his current quickness and athletic levels. He is used to going up against bigger players, and he has learned how to use his length — or lack thereof — to his advantage. He’ll need to do it more consistently, but he does a good job coming off the line aggressively, staying low and getting under the pads of bigger blockers.

The St. Joseph’s standout has powerful hands and shows a strong punch, and does a very good job locking blockers out. He’s also quite good at block destruction and closing quickly on the football. Cross is a strong tackler and takes good angles to the football. During his senior season he showed an improved ability to move his feet through contact and his hand play was much better.

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