Under The Lights: Previewing Big Games For Notre Dame Commits

The 2019 high school football season is here and Notre Dame commits are in action. Check out a preview of big games for the Fighting Irish pledges, as well as which recruit(s) Blue & Gold Illustrated's Mike Singer will be on the road this week to see.

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RELATED: Notre Dame Commit Tracker (Sept. 5-7)

On Friday, I'll be flying out to Memphis, which is about 15 minutes north of Southaven (Miss.) High School, home of Notre Dame cornerback commit Caleb Offord.

This will be my second time getting to see Offord in person, with the first being back on Memorial Day weekend at the Pylon 7v7 National Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. He showed some nice skills on that day, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him with pads on in a big-time game for his high school team.

Southaven is off to an 0-2 start to the regular season but have had a bye week to prepare for their matchup with Collierville (Tenn.) High (2-1). I will have live updates on my Twitter page (@BGI_MikeSinger) and on Rockne's Roundtable.

Offord, who ranks as the No. 52 cornerback nationally and No. 15 recruit in Mississippi per Rivals, earned an offer from Oklahoma on July 25, just a little over three weeks after announcing his pledge to the Irish. I'll catch up with him for the latest on where his verbal commitment stands with Notre Dame.

1. QB Drew Pyne, New Canaan (Ct.) High

Per the New Canaan Advertiser, Irish quarterback commit Drew Pyne is already his high school's all-time leader in passing yards (7,304) and is eight touchdowns behind the school record of 89. Last season, Pyne threw for 2,602 yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also added 220 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Pyne will look to start his senior season off in a big way against New London (Ct.) High (0-0) on Friday.

2. WR Jay Brunelle, Shrewsbury (Mass.) St. Johns

With Pyne and Brunelle beginning their respective senior seasons, all of Notre Dame's 2020 and 2021 commits will have started playing their 2019 regular seasons. This is of course besides Alexander Ehrensberger, who plays overseas in Germany. Brunelle and St. Johns face off at West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial (1-0) on Friday. Brunelle's squad lost 49-25 to Catholic Memorial to open the 2018 season.

3. DL Aidan Keanaaina, Denver (Colo.) Mullen

This Friday will pit a pair of strong 2-0 teams in Colorado against each other. Aidan Keanaaina's Mullen team hosts Greenwood Village (Colo.) Cherry Creek, a 12-2 team last year that fell in the Colorado 5A state championship game 24-14 to Valor Christian. Last season, Mullen finished 4-7, including a 35-8 loss to Cherry Creek. Through two games, Keanaaina has recorded 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and three forced fumbles.

OL Tosh Baker, Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle (3-0) – Bye Week

CB Landen Bartleson, Danville (Ky.) Boyle County (3-0) – at Harrodsburg (Ky.) Mercer County (3-0) Sept. 13

TE Kevin Bauman, Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic (0-1) – at Manasquan (N.J.) High (0-1) Sept. 14

DE Jordan Botelho, Honolulu (Hawaii) St. Louis (4-0) – vs. Kahuku (Hawai'i) High (4-1) Sept. 14

WR Jay Brunelle, Shrewsbury (Mass.) St. Johns (0-0) – at West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial (1-0) Sept. 13

OL Michael Carmody, Mars (Penn.) High (2-1) – at Pittsburgh Penn Hills (2-1) Sept. 13

WR Jordan Johnson, St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet (2-0) – vs. St. Louis University High (1-1) Sept. 13

DL Aidan Keanaaina, Denver (Colo.) Mullen (1-0) – vs. Greenwood Village (Colo.) Cherry Creek (2-0) Sept. 13

CB Clarence Lewis, Middletown (N.J.) Mater Dei (1-0) – vs. Jackson Township (N.J.) Jackson Memorial (2-0) Sept. 14

TE Michael Mayer, Alexandria (Ky.) Covington Catholic (3-0) – vs. Edgewood (Ky.) Dixie Heights (2-2) Sept. 13

DL Rylie Mills, Lake Forest (Ill.) High (1-1) – vs. Lake Zurich (Ill.) High (0-2) Sept. 13

CB Caleb Offord, Southaven (Miss.) High (0-2) – at Collierville (Tenn.) High (2-1) Sept. 13

LS Alex Peitsch, Washington (DC) St. John's College (2-1) – at Duncanville (Texas) High (2-0) Sept. 14

QB Drew Pyne, New Canaan (Ct.) High (0-0) – at New London (Ct.) High (0-0) Sept. 13

RB Chris Tyree, Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale (1-0) – at Richmond (Va.) Hermitage (1-1) Sept. 13

WR Xavier Watts, Omaha (Neb.) Burke (1-1) – vs. Omaha (Neb.) Central (1-1) Sept. 13

2021 Commits

TE Cane Berrong, Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County (3-0) – at Danielsville (Ga.) Madison County (2-1) Sept. 13

QB Tyler Buchner, La Jolla (Calif.) Bishops (3-0) – at Rosamond (Calif.) High (2-1) Sept. 13

OL Greg Crippen, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy (2-0) – at Philadelphia St. Joseph’s Prep (1-1) Sept. 13

OL Blake Fisher, Avon (Ind.) High (3-0) – vs. Brownsburg (Ind.) High (2-1) Sept. 13

DL Gabriel Rubio, St. Peters (Mo.) Lutheran (2-0) – at O’Fallon (Mo.) Living Word Christian (2-0)

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