2014 Notre Dame Football Recruiting – Visitor list for October 19 (Southern Cal)

This is another installment of a season-long series detailing the recruiting visitors to South Bend for each home game.

Coach Brian Kelly and his staff are holding Recruitapalooza this year for the nighttime showdown with USC. Several commits and high profile prospects are in town for this year's installment of the longest running intersectional rivalry.

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Unofficial Visitors (13):

Committed Players

OL Alex Bars - Nashville, TN (Montgomery Bell)

LB Jonathan Bonner - Chesterfield, MO (Parkway Central)

WR Justin Brent - Speedway, IN (Speedway)

LB Greer Martini - Woodberry Forest, VA (Woodberry Forest)

TE Nick Weishar - Midlothian, IL (Marist)

Uncommitted Players

S/LB Drue Tranquill - Fort Wayne, IN (Carroll)

QB Blake Barnett (2015) - Corona, CA (Santiago)

OLB/DE Jashon Cornell (2015) - St. Paul, MN (Cretin-Derham Hall)

WR Cameron Green (2015) - Lincolnshire, IL (Adlai Stevenson)

OL Tristen Hoge (2015) - Pocatello, ID (Highland)

RB Andre Robinson (2015) - Harrisburg, PA (Bishop McDevitt)

ATH Justin Tranquill (2015) - Fort Wayne, IN (Carroll)

WR Austin Mack (2016) - Fort Wayne, IN (Bishop Luers)

OT Thiyo Lukusa (2016) - Traverse City, MI (West)

Notes:

• Drue Tranquill returns for another game with his brother. The Purdue commit is being recruited as a defensive athlete.
• Barnett is just starting the recruiting process, but is likely to stay in California.
• Cornell is one of the top rated recruits for 2015 and attends the same high school as current WR James Onwualu and former WR Michael Floyd. He saw ND play at Michigan this fall.
• There isn't much on Green right now, but he impressed at some camps over the summer.
• Hoge appears to be an Irish lean as he has developed a relationship with OL coach Harry Hiestand. He is the top rated OC for 2015.
• Robinson is one of the top RBs in his class, but will likely be tough to beat Penn State for his services.
• Mack returns for another game and could be the top player in the state of Indiana for 2016.
• Lukusa will be one of the top prospects from Michigan in 2016, and could end up as a UofM-MSU battle for his services.

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Official Visitors (14):

Committed Players:

WR Corey Holmes - Fort Lauderdale, FL (St. Thomas Aquinas)

OT Quenton Nelson - Red Bank, NJ (Red Bank Catholic)

LB Richard Yeargin III - Fort Lauderdale, FL (University School)

Uncommitted Players:

WR Erik Brown - Fontana, CA (Summit)

DT Matt Elam - Elizabethtown, KY (John Hardin)

S Payton Hendrix - Dallas, TX (Bishop Dunne)

WR Allen Lazard - Urbandale, IA (Urbandale)

TE Tyler Luatua - La Mirada, CA (La Mirada)

OG Damien Mama - Bellflower, CA (St. John Bosco)

LB Nyles Morgan - Crete, IL (Crete-Monee)

WR/ATH Michiah Quick - Fresno, CA (Central East)

RB/ATH Bo Scarbrough - Bradenton, FL (IMG Academy)

DB/ATH John "JuJu" Smith - Long Beach, CA (Long Beach Poly)

CB Nick Watkins - Dallas, TX (Bishop Dunne)

Notes:

• Several players are committed to other schools, including Brown (Washington), Lazard (Iowa State) and Scarborough (Alabama). ND might be looking at Scarborough as a LB prospect due to his size. Regardless, if they are taking visits elsewhere it probably means they aren't 100% committed to their current school.
• Elam is probably the top priority for the staff this weekend. He could step in and contribute next fall to help fill the void left by the inevitable departure of Louis Nix.
• The Bishop Dunne teammates Watkins and Hendrix will see the Irish for the second time in three weeks (they were at the ASU game in Arlington). CBK watched them play in person and credible sources report ND is in the lead for both. Hendrix could add some weight and play LB at the next level due to his size (6'3"). Watkins is one of the top corner prospects in this year's class.
• Luatua is the most likely to commit this weekend. Some experts are reporting that he is being recruited as a jumbo athlete (aka "Big Skill"), while others say he is exclusively a TE. Only time will tell.
• Mama appears to be a stretch for the staff right now. Not sure if they are looking at him for a DT/NG or OG.
• Morgan is a late addition to the official visitor list and returns to South Bend after visiting this summer. Some experts have him pegged for the SEC, but ND appears to be making up ground recently and also has early playing time to offer at ILB.
• Quick is a former teammate of Tee Shepard (remember him?) and is an explosive athlete. He could play receiver or defensive back at the college level.
• Notre Dame is in great shape for Smith right now. He is another explosive athlete that could play receiver, corner or safety.

Other Recruiting Notes:

• DE commit Jay Hayes was a late scratch this week due to transportation issues. He will make his official visit for the BYU game in November.
• WR Isaiah McKenzie (FL) was a scratch due to test scores not being official yet. Several outlets are reporting that he announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Friday night before his game.

Source: http://www.onefootdown.com/2013/10/19/4854256/2014-notre-dame-football-recruiting-visitor-list-for-october-19