The Gold Standard: Latest Intel On Notre Dame Recruiting

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The Gold Standard is Blue & Gold's weekly recruiting scoop piece, which runs every Monday morning. Expect significant Notre Dame recruiting intel in every edition from insiders EJ Holland and Mike Singer.

Here is this week's edition.

*** Notre Dame has four-star class of 2021 offensive line commitments in Blake Fisher and Greg Crippen, but the Fighting Irish coaching staff has several other big-time, highly ranked OL prospects in their sights. Good Counsel (Md.) offensive tackle Landon Tengwall is probably the most popular of the group, and he's highly considering Notre Dame. The Irish got a summer visit from elite tackle Tommy Brockermeyer, and Donovan Jackson has interesting ties to the Midwest and hopes to visit Notre Dame this fall. There are a few more top offensive line targets for the Irish, and here are updates on them.

*** Warwick (Pa.) offensive tackle Nolan Rucci is ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the 2021 class, and sources have expressed that the 6-foot-8, 271-pounder is a big priority for Notre Dame's class. Rucci is keeping in touch with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, and the four-star Rivals100 recruit told me that he had a great conversation with Quinn in June

.*** Rucci believes that Notre Dame is a "great spot" and has high praises of the Irish offensive line coach. Quinn compares Rucci to specific linemen who have gone through the Notre Dame program, especially players who have been through the program in the past few years that Quinn has been in South Bend. Rucci's last visit to Notre Dame was in January, and he also took a visit to Notre Dame in spring of 2018 with his brother, Hayden Rucci, who signed with Wisconsin in the 2019 class. Rucci hopes to get back to Notre Dame this fall to see a game and watch Quinn in action.

*** Clarkston (Mich.) offensive tackle Garrett Dellinger is another big Notre Dame target, and he's a guy who the staff has been recruiting for a long time. The Irish offered him the day after the Michigan game last year, and he's been on campus a total of three times. Dellinger keeps in good contact with Quinn and is getting to know him better. Dellinger feels comfortable with Notre Dame's football program and academics, so the focus now is building a strong bond with Quinn. The Fighting Irish are in good early position for Dellinger.

*** Dellinger is high school teammates with Rocco Spindler, who is also being targeted by Notre Dame and is a priority for the Irish. Spindler noted that he's keeping in touch with coaches from Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, LSU, Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan State the most of schools recruiting him. He'll visit Michigan on July 27 for an event right after the dead period, and he's also planning to visit Northwestern, Wisconsin, and hopes to see Notre Dame twice in the next three months. Look for Spindler to potentially visit Notre Dame in August. He also has the USC-Notre Dame locked in on his calendar. Spindler referred to Notre Dame as a "top notch" program and said that the Irish are "rolling on all cylinders." I do feel that this is mainly a Michigan-Notre Dame battle.

*** While I have Spindler in this 2021 offensive line breakdown, he very well could end up playing defensive tackle in college. Michigan and Notre Dame are both "50/50" on whether they want Spindler on offense or defense, according to the Rivals100 recruit. Spindler doesn't have a strong preference on where he plays at the next level and trusts what his college coaching staff thinks is best for him. Spindler could either play guard or tackle in college; he noted that he's talked to Quinn about tackle.

*** The last offensive lineman I'll go into detail about is Fort Collins (Colo.) Fossil Ridge offensive tackle Trey Zuhn. Quinn offered Zuhn while recruiting in Colorado during the spring evaluation period, and Zuhn camped at Notre Dame in June for the Linemen's Challenge. Our Bryan Driskell wrote that Zuhn had an impressive camp. Zuhn really enjoyed his time in South Bend -- learning from Quinn, seeing the facilities, and competing in the camp. Notre Dame is one of many schools in the mix for Zuhn -- it's too early to tell where he's leaning at the moment.

It’s been more than a year since Michael Mayer committed to Notre Dame.

One of the first members of the 2020 class, Mayer grew up in a family full of LSU fans as his grandfather, Dick Mailey, is a former All-American basketball player for the Tigers. Meanwhile his older brother, AJ, is a quarterback at Miami (Ohio).

While he has no ties to Notre Dame, the four-star Covington Catholic (Ky.) tight end and his family simply fell in love with the program — so much so that he pulled the trigger almost right away.

And his mother, Amy, couldn’t be happier.

“We didn’t know a lot about Notre Dame until the recruiting process,” Amy said. “But once we saw the stadium, the campus and just everything up there, it was awesome. We are Catholics, so that’s a plus. It just felt like a great fit for Michael with kids from similar backgrounds.

“We only visited two other places. Once he saw Notre Dame, he didn’t want to see other schools.”

The Mayer family actually took in the Notre Dame vs. Miami (Ohio) game back in September of 2017. It wasn’t until a couple of months later that the Irish presented Michael with a scholarship offer.

Mayer would return to South Bend for two unofficial visits in 2018 before committing to Notre Dame in July of that year. On every visit, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long and the rest of the staff made the Mayer family feel at home.

In fact, Amy said religion and the bond she formed with the Notre Dame coaches played huge roles in the family’s final decision

. “It was awesome for me to see the cathedral and things like that when we visited,” Amy said. “I love the whole religious aspect. Of course, Chip Long gave us a lot of attention. Michael has a close relationship with Chip, players on the team and a lot of the commits. We trust the whole coaching staff. He’s in good hands. They’ve been great from the beginning.”

Amy added that Notre Dame’s prestigious academics also helped make the decision easier.

“The academics are huge,” she said. “Michael is a smart kid, but he doesn’t love school. It’s not his favorite thing. Football is. But once he’s challenged and the bar is set high, he likes the challenge. It’s going to be great for him to have that peer pressure and be surrounded by smart kids trying to do well. That’s definitely a plus.”

The Mayer family will be back in South Bend for an official visit in October when Notre Dame takes on USC.

At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Mayer is ranked as the No. 3 tight end and No. 71 overall recruit in the country, per Rivals.com.

Chris Tyree may be the fastest recruit in the country. So it’s no surprise he has quite the stellar offer list.

Tyree, however, committed to Notre Dame over fellow finalists Alabama and Oklahoma earlier this offseason and is now completely locked in with the Irish. For Tyree, picking Notre Dame was a family decision.

His father, Richard, made it clear that he, his wife, Michelle, and Chris all fell in love with the unique blend of academics and athletics at Notre Dame.

“Historically, it’s a phenomenal institution both academically and athletically,” Richard said. “I think that’s the biggest draw. But Chris really felt at home with the players on the team, the commits in the class and the coaching staff. It all really fell into place.”

Michelle added:

“It’s big-time with athletics and academics. You also have that small, hometown school feel on a regular day. On game day, it doesn’t get much bigger. It felt like home. The coaches and the players are like-minded. You can’t ask for too much more.”

The Tyree family made their way to South Bend for an official visit last month, where they were reassured that Notre Dame is in fact the right place,

The official visit also gave them a chance to get a look at some things they hadn’t seen at Notre Dame as well as an opportunity to meet with families of other 2020 Irish commits.

“Spending time with the other families and getting to know them was a big thing,” Michelle said. “The commits have their own chat, so it was nice for the parents to have a chance to do something like that as well. It was a family affair. We enjoyed that.”

Richard added:

“The one thing we did on the official that we hadn’t done before was talk to the admissions staff. Notre Dame isn’t an easy school to get into. They just reassured us that Chris is doing the right thing and that he is on the right path. We toured some different places. We got to see the new indoor facility. We got a taste of it. Those were the biggest things.”

Michelle also mentioned the fact that this was their first face-to-face meeting with Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor. Winning over mom in recruiting is a must, and Taylor passed with flying colors.

“We had talked to him on the phone many times, but it was good to get that in-person meeting,” Michelle said. “We talked to him about how he would use Chris. Of course, he’s coached players like Chris, so that was a big draw for us. We hit it off with him. He and Chris clicked. We also met his family, so that was big for us.”

Richard noted that the entire coaching staff at Notre Dame does a tremendous job with their student-athletes, hence why they feel comfortable sending Chris to South Bend.

“They all relate well with the players and recruits,” Richard said. “They are easy to get along with, but they do a good job of letting you know what’s expected. Outside of football, they care for their players not only as players but also as young men.”

At 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, Tyree is ranked as the No. 1 all-purpose back and No. 64 overall recruit in the country, per Rivals.com.

On back to back days last week, Notre Dame landed new commitments, coming from cornerback Caleb Offord and wide receiver Xavier Watts. We reached out to the Fighting Irish commits to get their reactions to the new additions to the 2020 class.

*** Defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina: "I’m so happy for them to join the family. They are pieces we need for our future team and can’t wait to put in work with them."

*** Wide receiver Jay Brunelle: "Ecstatic about both additions. It really looks like the class is coming together especially on the skill position side. I’ve been in contact with Watts, and I’m really glad he is coming.

*** Running back Chris Tyree: "Those are my guys, man! It was great meeting them on the visit, but it’s even better seeing that they decided to join the family."

*** Long snapper Alex Peitsch: "It’s really cool to see how the class is filling in and I’m excited to see all the talent that’s coming to ND."

*** Tight end Kevin Bauman: "So pumped up. Two studs. Another great DB addition and a great WR to this elite offensive class. Could not be more excited.

*** Defensive lineman Rylie Mills: "Super excited about these guys committing. They’re really good players and I’m glad they joined the Irish.

*** Drop end Jordan Botelho: "They both are great players and it’s exciting to see our class come together!"

*** Tight end Michael Mayer: "Both these players will make a big impact on our football team in South Bend. I think it’s awesome we keep get such good kids, and awesome football players."

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