Notre Dame football's 2024 recruiting class will make its commitments official this week during the three-day-early signing period, and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has an in-state commit expected to sign whose stock is on the rise.
Styles Prescod, a 6-foot-6, 265-pound offensive tackle out of Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern, plans to sign his National Letter of the Intent with the Irish on Wednesday. Prescod received a bump to a four-star rating by Rivals in the latest rankings update and is ranked inside the top 30 of offensive tackles in the 2024 class.
Prescod reported 26 total offers during his recruitment, and made recruiting visits to Cincinnati, Iowa, Kentucky, Purdue and West Virginia as a junior.
In January, Prescod received an offer from then-ND offensive line coach Harry Hiestand while on an unofficial visit to Notre Dame. When Hiestand resigned weeks later and head coach Marcus Freeman hired Rudolph away from Virginia Tech in February, Prescod visited the Irish on back-to-back weekends in April.
Notre Dame was the only school to receive an official visit in Prescod's recruitment, which happened on June 2-4, along with Irish 2024 offensive line commits Anthonie Knapp, Guerby Lambert and Peter Jones. He committed shortly thereafter and visited Notre Dame for four of its six home games this season.
Eze Obiora, owner of Obiora Rehab and Sports Training, has worked with Prescod during his prep career and is training Prescod in the northern Indianapolis area leading up to his early enrollment in January. Obiora specializes in speed and vertical jump training, and he was blown away when first introduced to Prescod on X/Twitter.
"He just did one kick step and the suddenness of his movement, and his height, I'm like, 'Oh, this guy is going to be a dog,'" Obiora told Inside ND Sports. "So when he came in, I saw his size and I was shocked. Against my defensive ends, nobody could get around him. I was like, 'You're gonna be a Division I athlete.'"
Before Prescod began training with Obiora, he played defensive line for the Royals. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after talks with Hamilton Southeastern's coaching staff, Prescod switched positions and began playing offensive tackle.
Obiora has seen Prescod transform his body and fight through adversity during last offseason's rehab after knee surgery. Obiora, who played at Purdue and Southern Illinois before stints in the CFL, IFL and with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, believes Prescod's upcoming transition is an entirely different challenge.
"High school to college is the biggest jump, so it's hard to predict how a kid is going to do in college, especially with the portal," Obiora said. "From what I've seen, he's mentally tough, but this is going to be another test. Right now, he's the biggest. He's one of the biggest things in Indiana. But then when he goes to Notre Dame, [where] everybody was the guy. I'm gonna watch to see how he responds to that."
Prescod is expected to become the fourth in-state offensive lineman the Irish have signed since the 2021 recruiting cycle. Blake Fisher, Ashton Craig and Joey Tanona are recent examples of local prospects who decided to remain in the Hoosier state and commit to Notre Dame.
Setting expectationsÂ
Fisher, who started as a freshman at left tackle in his college debut at Florida State in 2021 before moving permanently to right tackle. He and starting left tackle Joe Alt declared for the NFL Draft earlier this month and left ND with two open starting spots at tackle for next season.
Freshman Charles Jagusah has emerged through bowl practice and is in line to get the starting nod at left tackle in the Sun Bowl against No. 21 Oregon State on Dec. 29. Aamil Wagner and Tosh Baker are in a position battle for the right tackle spot leading up to the Sun Bowl.
Prescod played left tackle for the Royals but could play either tackle position for Rudolph. Jones and Knapp, two other early enrollees, are expected to fill guard positions, while Lambert, am eventual summer enrollee, projects as an offensive tackle.
In recent months, Obiora has seen Prescod grow in his change of direction, power and explosiveness. Obiora wants to see continual growth from Prescod even if his live reps are in practice on the scout team instead of in games.
"It's rare that a freshman would start at Marian University, let alone Notre Dame, so I'm not putting that much pressure on him," Obiora said. "But I expect him to develop in his knowledge of the game and his strength and size.
"Obviously, I know he's gonna graduate. If I know him, I know he's gonna graduate. And then — God willing — if everything goes well, he doesn't get injured. I mean, the guy's a contender, [and] he's got the kind of athleticism that he can go to the league."
Upon arrival at Notre Dame in January, Prescod will attend offseason workouts and participate in team activities before spring practice begins in March. Obiora said he's never had a problem with Prescod's discipline or motivation in training sessions. He expects Prescod to add weight immediately.
Potential of becoming a pro
Rivals has assigned Prescod a 5.8 rating, which makes him an All-America candidate who could have first to third-round NFL Draft potential, according to the Rivals recruiting rankings formula.
Obiora has trained Duke offensive guard Justin Pickett, Miami (Ohio) offensive tackle Ben Decker and Oklahoma offensive guard Caleb Shaffer. He said genetic makeup is important when developing into an NFL player, and that Prescod has the natural gifts to excel at the position.
"When you look at the genetic makeup of someone who can go to the NFL, he has it all," Prescod said. "He has all the strength. Some of these tackles are gonna get exposed when they get to college, because the recruiters care so much about size that they're not noticing that the guy has really bad feet and they feel like they can coach that."
"Styles' feet are very sudden. It's very rare for someone his size to move like that. I've never trained a tackle that moves like Styles. When it comes to genetic makeup, that boy's got it. It's up to him."
Prescod has been under the NFL eye of Hamilton Southeastern offensive line coach Brandin Gorin, a nine-year NFL veteran who won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots after starring at Purdue from 1998-2001. In October, Gorin said Prescod was more advanced than Gorin was entering college because of his mental makeup.
"He's got a bright future, because I think that's all part of his wheelhouse, and he listens and studies," Gorin said. "He's a student of the game, [and] wants to be good. The coaching staff will be really impressed with what they get out of the kid and his mental toughness."
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