DB target Donte Vaughn returns to Notre Dame this weekend
The dead period is dead and gone.
After a two-week stretch in which college football programs were not allowed to host recruits, Notre Dame will resume its busy summer this weekend.
Defensive back Donte Vaughn will be the first major target to visit following the dead period, which ended Sunday night. Vaughn will make his second trip of the year to South Bend. He last visited on June 10 with some of his teammates at Memphis (Tenn.) Whitehaven.
During his previous visit, Vaughn, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound recruit, learned he had received a scholarship offer from the Irish. Despite getting most of his questions answered on that visit, he scheduled another trip for Friday and Saturday to allow his father to join him.
Vaughn recently released a list of his top eight schools which included Notre Dame and seven SEC programs. The Irish were joined by Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri and Mississippi State.
Vaughn could play safety or cornerback at the college level. Notre Dame has been actively pursuing cornerbacks with size like Vaughn. Rivals rates him as a four-star recruit and the No. 18 safety in the 2016 class. 247Sports slates him as a three-star prospect and No. 34 at cornerback.
Recruiting coordinator Mike Elston has been in frequent contact with Vaughn.
“He’s a pretty good coach,” Vaughn said. “He and my dad stay in touch. We have a pretty good relationship.”
Vaughn was also impressed by defensive backs coach Todd Lyght during his last trip to Notre Dame.
“One of the things I like about their school is that some of their coaches actually went to the school, had careers and came back to the school,” Vaughn said. “That says a lot. It’s like a family up there.”
Below are highlights of Vaughn's junior season via Hudl.
ND commit at FSU
Notre Dame wide receiver commit Kevin Stepherson posted a photo Thursday on Instagram with former Irish quarterback Everett Golson. That meant one thing: Stepherson was on Florida State’s campus.
His visit wasn’t, according to Stepherson, a recruiting visit. He was simply attending a Florida State camp with his Jacksonville (Fla.) First Coast teammates. Stepherson, who committed to Notre Dame last month at the Irish Invasion, hasn’t received a scholarship offer from the Seminoles.
tjames@ndinsider.com | 574-235-6214 | Twitter: @TJamesNDI
