When safety Jordan Genmark Heath flipped his commitment from Cal to Notre Dame on Thursday, he raised the Irish class of 2017 to a total of 16 recruits. More exactly, he became the seventh commit on the defensive side of the ball.
Notre Dame and coach Brian Kelly may not yet be done, though, with up to a half dozen defensive recruits still realistically considering the Irish sales pitch.
Defensive lineman Jalen Harris (Desert Ridge High School; Mesa, Ariz.) is in South Bend this weekend, quite possibly as you read this very sentence. Harris remains committed to Arizona, but Notre Dame has not relented in its recruitment.
Naturally, getting the final visit before Wednesday’s National Signing Day cannot be a bad sign. You may get only one shot at a first impression, but oftentimes the last guy on a girl’s mind is the one who gets the girl.
Do note: Mesa, Ariz., is on Mountain time. Should Harris continue to ponder until Wednesday, Irish fans and defensive coordinator Mike Elko alike will have to wait until 9 a.m. Eastern time, at the earliest, to learn who receives Harris’s signature.
Safety Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Bethel H.S.; Hampton, Va.) visited campus late this past week. Originally committed to Virginia, Owusu-Koramoah reopened his recruitment and narrowed the field to Notre Dame and Michigan State.
Possibly joining Owusu-Koramoah in the defensive backfield, safety Evan Fields has scheduled a ceremony at his high school (Midwest City H.S.; Oklahoma City) for Monday, Jan. 30, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. Again, Notre Dame received the final visit of Fields’s recruitment.
The Irish have not let an October commitment to Louisville deter them from continuing to recruit defensive back Russ Yeast (Center Grove; Greenwood, Ind.). Yeast made the 2 ½-hour drive to South Bend in the latter half of the month days after receiving a Notre Dame offer Jan. 18.
Hawaii defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa received an Irish offer earlier in January and has yet to announce a commitment. Furthering his focus on defensive line reinforcements, Elko welcomed Kofi Wardlow (St. John’s College H.S.; Washington, D.C.) to campus earlier this month, though Wardlow remains a Maryland commit. Given his residency on the east coast, Wardlow will likely not keep Elko waiting for long Wednesday morning.
CURRENT DEFENSIVE COMMITMENTS
DL: Darnell Ewell, Kurt Hinish, Jonathon MacCollister
LB: David Adams, Drew White
DB: Isaiah Robertson (early enrollee), Jordan Genmark Heath