Rockne's Roundtable

Players Within the Top 50

#3 – Vernon Hargreaves III – CB – 5’11”/180 – Tampa, FL -- Offered

#6 – Jaylon Smith – OLB – 6’3”/220 – Fort Wayne, IN -- COMMITTED

#16 -- Vonn Bell -- S -- 6'/190 -- Rossville, GA -- Offered

#17 - Priest Willis - CB - 6'2"/200 - Tempe, AZ -- Offered

-Big, physically-imposing CB with surprising quickness. Great ball skills and solid tackler. Seems to really like ND and the signing of Davonte Neal can only help us. Ultimately, I think we are in it to the end.

#18 – MacKensie Alexander – CB – 5’11”/175 – Immokalee, FL -- Offered

#35 – Leon McQuay III – S – 6’2”/185 – Tampa, FL -- Offered

#37 – Alquadin Muhammad – DE/OLB – 6’4”/230 – Ramsey, NJ -- Offered
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It’s very tough to say what our weaknesses will be in 2013 given we haven't even gotten to the spring of 2012 so I am going to have to based everything on our deficiencies heading into the spring.

Based on our current roster, we need to make a few of these potentially-elite prospects priorities over the others because of either positional weakness or lacking positional depth. These prospects IMO are:

-Jaylon Smith has to be priority #1 for us because while we have good depth at the OLB position, we seem to be getting OLB/DE athletes that fit into the OLB spot more-so than the DE spot. Because of this, I expect some of our OLB's (such as Ishaq) to get big enough to the point where they will slide down to DE and someone else will need to step into the OLB spot. Not only that, but he is a top-five player in the country and is an Indiana-native so I feel we NEED to get him more than anyone just to let the other powers of the nation know that Indiana players are off-limits. --- GOT HIM! YES!

-Vernon Hargreaves is priority #2 because we are lacking at the CB position as of now. Tee Shepard could be a special player for us, and we have unknown entities in Bennett Jackson, Jalen Brown, Josh Atkinson, and Co. that could come up big this year, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that we need depth at CB, and we need talented depth that can step in right away and contribute as well as develop into a lockdown corner opposite Tee so that Diaco can dial up more defensively.

Top Targets Outside the Top 50

#62 -- Cole Luke -- CB -- 6'/170 -- Chandler, AZ -- Offered

-While we are a bit behind the 8-ball on his offer, I feel we have a good shot with him as the #1 player in AZ 2013 seeing as how he's very similar to the latest ND addition, #1 player in AZ 2012 Davonte Neal. Hopefully Davonte can do some recruiting and we can sway him towards ND. He is a very quick, very talented CB. He has a nose for the ball and a nose for the endzone.

#79 -- Alex Anzalone -- OLB -- 6'3"/235 -- Reading, PA -- COMMITTED

#81 -- Hunter Bivin -- OT -- 6'7"/290 -- Owensboro, KY -- COMMITTED

-Bivin is a big, athletic OT that has very good feet for someone so large. He has shown the ability to move his feet in pass blocking and the drive in run blocking. He has interest in ND and hopefully we are all over him. He seems to be a kid that wants to play at ND and we would be lucky to have him.

#94 -- Rashad Kinlaw -- ATH/CB -- 6'/175 -- Absecon, NJ -- COMMITTED

-"I'm going to be looking at academics and the history of the school," Kinlaw, who is rated by 247Sports as the No. 5 athlete nationally, the No. 3 prospect in New Jersey and the country's No. 81 overall recruit, said of his factors. "I'm going to research what goes on at the school and in the environment. The surroundings will be important to me because I really don't want to go far. I don't plan on going to school out West or in the South or anything."

If he is true to his word, he should be a slam dunk for ND. However, I do think we are neck and neck with Penn State. The fact that the SEC and PAC-12 are out already can only help. Hopefully we can really woo him at Junior Day.

Top Targets Outside the Top 100

#102 -- Isaac Rochell -- DE/DT -- 6'5"/260 -- Mcdonough, GA -- COMMITTED
-Isaac is a big-time DL.. He has the size and speed to play the DE spot for us or move inside when we play a 4-3 front. I know it's a long ways from NSD, but I feel good about him ending up at ND.

#105 -- Steve Elmer -- OT -- 6'6"/315 -- Midland, MI -- COMMITTED

-I don't know what has caused Steve to fall from a top-15 player to outside the top-100, but I don't care either. He is an elite OL and I'm so glad to have such a great student, person, and athlete ready to join the Irish. Already one of my favorites.

#127 -- Malik Zaire -- QB -- 6'1"/185 -- Dayton, OH -- COMMITTED

#134 – Nadir Barnwell – ATH – 5’10”/175 – Piscataway, NJ -- Offered

#141 -- Khalfani Muhammad -- RB -- 5'8"/175 -- Sherman Oaks, CA -- Offered

-This 4.40 40 all-purpose back is very high on the Irish and I expect his commitment to come soon since he just got his offer. Not big, but he's elusive.

#158 -- Jordan Sherit -- DE/OLB -- 6'4"/230 -- Tampa, FL -- Offered

-Jordan Sherit is a kid I really like. I've had the opportunity to watch him play in person a few times and he is impressive. He is a high-motor player and gets off the edge in a hurry. I don't know if it's because of the Tampa connection or because I haven't gotten to watch a ton of others live, but he reminds me of 2011 signee Anthony Chickillo, except may be a step faster.

#165 – Jacob Matuska – DE-- 6’5”/240 – Columbus, OH -- COMMITTED

-It’s odd putting a kid from Columbus on this list, but I feel he is a great back-up in case Breneman doesn’t end up in South Bend. He is a big, talented TE with great hands and I believe he is almost a lock for ND if we want him.

Update:
-While I viewed him as a TE, evidentally the staff views him as a DE. That's fine by me; he's a big, talented kid regardless of position. I called my first shot right with Matuska, its someone else's turn now. Great commitment and excited for the next!

#169 -- Taquan Mizzell -- RB -- 5'10"/180 -- Virginia Beach, VA -- Offered

#179 -- Tarean Folston -- RB -- 5'9"/185 -- Cocoa, FL -- Offered

-Current Irish commit Hunter Bivin is working on him at camp. Pitching the idea of running behind our 5 committed hog mollies. Needs to visit this summer or won't take an official. Good running back. Fast (4.4). I like him a lot.

#210 Mike Heuerman -- TE -- 6'4"/215 -- Naples, FL -- COMMITTED

#234 -- LJ Moore – CB -- 6’2”/185 – Fresno, CA -- Offered

-While not the most highly ranked kid, LJ could be a great fit in our defense. Not only could we pair him with Fresno-native Tee Shepard, but he would provide us with the flexibility to move him around because of his outstanding size.

NR/#10 Dual-Threat QB Johnny Stanton -- QB/ATH -- 6'2"/215 -- Rancho Santa Margarita, CA -- Offered

-While he may be a QB in HS, he has to be a recruit for the Irish as an athlete similar to Danny Spond coming out of HS. He is a very good athlete and following his visit, raved about Notre Dame.. Should be an interesting recruitment.

NR/#14 DE Josh Augusta -- DE -- 6'5"/280 -- Peoria, IL -- Offered

NR/#18 WDE/OLB Dajuan Drennon -- DE/OLB -- 6'4"/225 -- Sicklerville, NJ -- Offered

NR/#27 OT – Mike McGlinchey -- OT – 6’9”/275 – Philadelphia, PA – COMMITTED

NR/#29 OT – Colin McGovern – OT – 6’6”/280 – New Lenox, IL – COMMITTED

NR/#35 OLB -- Danny Mattingly -- OLB -- 6'4"/215 -- Spokane, WA -- COMMITTED

NR/#42 DE -- Ebenezer Ogundeko -- DE/OLB -- 6'4"/235 -- Brooklyn NY -- Offered

NR/#43 ATH -- Devin Butler -- CB -- 6'1"/180 -- Washington, DC -- COMMITTED

NR/#48 ILB -- Michael Deeb – ILB – 6’2”/237 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- COMMITTED

NR/#53 OT -- John Montelus -- OT -- 6'5"/305 -- Everett, MA -- COMMITTED

NR/#54 WR -- James Onwualu -- WR -- 6'2"/205 -- St. Paul, MIN -- COMMITTED

NR/#75 ATH Marcus Ball -- ATH -- 6'3"/205 -- Westerville, OH -- Offered

NR/#88 WR Corey Robinson -- WR -- 6'4"/195 -- San Antonio, TX -- COMMITTED

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The Breakdown:

QB: MALIK ZAIRE
HB: Khalfani Muhammad / Taquan Mizzell / Tarean Folston
WR: JAMES ONWUALU / COREY ROBINSON
TE: MIKE HEUERMAN
OL: HUNTER BIVIN / STEVE ELMER / MIKE MCGLINCHEY / COLIN MCGOVERN / JOHN MONTELUS
DL: Alquadin Muhammad / ISAAC ROCHELL / JACOB MATUSKA / Josh Augusta / Jordan Sherit
OLB: JAYLON SMITH / Ebenezer Ogundeko / DANNY MATTINGLY / Dajuan Drennon
ILB: ALEX ANZALONE / MICHAEL DEEB
CB: Vernon Hargreaves III / Priest Willis / MacKensie Alexander / Cole Luke / RASHAD KINLAW / LJ Moore / DEVIN BUTLER
S: Vonn Bell / Leon McQuay III
ATH: Nadir Barnwell / Johnny Stanton / Marcus Ball