Notre Dame schedules visiting recruits for weekend
With spring football in full swing, Notre Dame has scheduled an impressive list of visiting recruits for the weekend. Four 2015 prospects with Irish offers are set for South Bend. Here’s a breakdown of each player with comments from CBS Sports Recruiting Analyst Tom Lemming.
•OL Jake Fruhmorgen, 6-5, 290; Tampa (Fla.) Plant: The four-star recruit will be making the trip to campus, his first since camping with Notre Dame last summer, with his head coach Robert Weiner on Friday.
“He's exceptional technique-wise,” Lemming said. “His body frame isn't as impressive in person as he is on film. He runs very well and is exceptionally good with technique as an offensive lineman. He could wind up playing tackle or guard in college. He's one of the premier offensive linemen in Florida.”
Fruhmorgen’s father, John, played offensive line for Alabama. The younger Fruhmorgen holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Michigan, among others. 247Sports slates Fruhmorgen as the No. 5 offensive tackle and the No. 69 player overall in the 2015 class. Rivals ranks him as the No. 10 offensive tackle and No. 80 overall.
“Notre Dame only needs one more offensive lineman and they want a super prospect,” Lemming said. “Fruhmorgen may fit into that group as one of the top 20 in the country.”
Watch Fruhmorgen's highlights here.
•TE Chris Clark, 6-6, 245; Avon (Conn.) Old Farms: the four-star recruit verbally committed to North Carolina following a March 16 visit to Chapel Hill, but will still make his previously planned trip to Notre Dame. Clark’s early commitment to the Tar Heels came as a surprise with power programs like Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State pursuing him.
“He has the length and the size that they like,” Lemming said. “He's a good, solid receiver. He's one of the two best players in Connecticut along with a defensive lineman (Christian Wilkins) that Notre Dame's also offered. He has the frame that fits into the Kyle Rudolph mold - a tall, lanky receiver with good hands and good speed.”
The Irish are looking for one tight end in the 2015 class, but three of the four tight ends they have targeted have already committed elsewhere. 247Sports slates Clark as the No. 5 tight end and No. 179 overall. Rivals ranks him as the No. 7 tight end and No. 176 overall.
“It's not a great year for tight ends like it was last year when Notre Dame got two really good ones,” Lemming said.
Watch Clark's highlights here.
•CB John Reid, 5-10, 180; Philadelphia St. Joseph’s: the four-star recruit will make his first visit to Notre Dame on Saturday. An offer from Alabama earlier this month cemented Reid’s status as a national recruit. He also holds offers from Penn State, Michigan, Miami and others.
“Right now he's the top prospect in the Philadelphia area as a cover corner,” Lemming said. “He runs very well. He shows good instincts. There aren't many corners in the Midwest that aren't committed, so he becomes a high priority for them in the secondary.”
247Sports slates Reid as the No. 7 cornerback and No. 83 overall in the 2015 class. Rivals ranks him as the No. 12 cornerback and No. 119 overall.
•WR Miles Boykin, 6-4, 210; New Lenox (Ill.) Providence Catholic: the four-star recruit has been a frequent visitor to Notre Dame. This weekend will mark his third trip to South Bend since the beginning of February. His last visit, on the March 1 junior day, ended with an offer from the Irish.
"Boykin is one of those wide receivers that I think can get the job done as a wide receiver and grow into a tight end,” Lemming said. “He's very sure-handed. He can run. He improved by leaps and bounds between his sophomore and junior years. Now he's a big-time prospect.”
Rivals ranks Boykin as the No. 10 wide receiver and No. 114 overall. 247Sports slates him as the No. 42 wide receiver.
Watch Boykin's highlights here.
The Irish will also host four more noteworthy visitors – one 2015 prospect (Shareef Miller) and three 2016 prospects – that do not hold Notre Dame offers.
•DE Shareef Miller, 6-5, 225; Philadelphia Frankford: the three-star recruit will make his first visit to Notre Dame this weekend. He holds a number of offers including Penn State, Oregon, Arizona State and Pittsburgh.
“He is a pretty good player from Philadelphia,” Lemming said. “I liked him a lot. He's probably not an offer yet, but he's a guy that if he has a good senior year will be an offer for Notre Dame. He's got good height and length."
Rivals ranks Miller as the No. 15 weakside defensive end prospect in the 2015 class. 247Sports slates him as the No. 22 strongside defensive end.
Watch Miller's highlights here.
•OL Liam Eichenberg, 6-5, 270; Cleveland St. Ignatius: the sophomore teammate of 2014 Notre Dame signee Jimmy Byrne will visit the Irish with his family. He already holds offers from Ohio State and Michigan.
“He's a good one,” Lemming said. “Eichenberg is one of the top two prospects in Ohio for next year. Liam's a very big deal."
Watch Eichenberg's highlights here.
•QB Rex Culpepper, 6-3, 215; Tampa Plant: the sophomore signal-caller and his father, former Florida and NFL defensive lineman Brad Culpepper, will be joining Weiner and Fruhmorgen on the visit. Plant has produced a number of college quarterbacks – Georgia’s Aaron Murray, Purdue’s Robert Marve, and Toledo’s Phillip Ely – and Weiner believes Culpepper could be the next in line.
He has yet to start a varsity game but already received an offer from Ole Miss.
“He's getting a lot of publicity down there,” Lemming said. “He's a good quarterback. Someone you're going to like. I doubt they offer him early. He's a good, solid quarterback that a lot of people are starting to notice.”
•OL Sean Foster, 6-8, 265; Mundelein (Ill.) Carmel Catholic: the sophomore lineman will make his second recruiting visit to Notre Dame. He also attended November’s BYU game last season.
Foster has emerged as one of the top offensive line prospects in the Midwest for 2016. He already holds offered from Nebraska, Indiana and California after a sophomore season playing left tackle.
Watch Foster's highlights here.
TJames1@SBTinfo.com | 574-235-6214 | Twitter: @TJamesNDI
