RB Deon McIntosh
Measurables: 5-11, 170
School: Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons
Rivals ranking: Three stars, No. 10 APB.
247Sports ranking: Three stars, No. 82 RB.
Notable numbers: McIntosh rushed for 2,532 yards and scored 210 points in his high school career.
First scholarship offer: East Carolina.
Best advice I received through the recruiting process: Take your time and don’t let anybody lie to you.
One word to describe Brian Kelly: Awesome.
The one thing I won’t miss about the recruiting process: All the phone calls.
Moment I knew I wanted to be Irish: After talking to my family, we decided it would be one of the best schools for me.
My secret off-the-field talent: Riding dirt bikes.
Song on my iPod I’m embarrassed to tell people about: “Baby” by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris.
Sports idol: Barry Sanders.
Preferred social media: Instagram.
Favorite football accomplishment: Finish third in career rushing yards and second in scoring at Cardinal Gibbons.
Dream job (other than the NFL): Something in a suit.
Running backs coach Autry Denson on McIntosh: "He is a phenomenal talent. He did have to carry the load. Here’s the thing about Florida. You go through the recruiting cycle as a Florida player a few times. You get recruited to play little league football. Then you get recruited to go to high schools. What’s interesting about that is Deon attends Cardinal Gibbons. His senior year, he loses his quarterback and two of their top linemen to a rival high school. But to show you who he is and how his dad has raised him, they’re so loyal that his dad didn’t care. He was not leaving. He had plenty of people trying to pull at him to get him to go. That’s why he had to shoulder the load. The way he was able to mature from a leadership standpoint as well as continue to develop his game because he had to do so many other jobs, we will see the benefits of that when he gets here."
Denson on McIntosh's running style: "Do whatever it takes. All my backs, it’s whatever it takes to get the job done. He can show you some power. He can show you some speed. He can catch the ball really well. At the end of the day, we want guys that can finish plays and he can do that."
Denson on pairing McIntosh with Tony Jones Jr. in the 2016 class: "We were looking for a thunder and a lightning, and we were blessed to get a thunder and a lightning. Now, with that being said, I don’t want people to think that thunder can’t finish a run, and I don’t want people to think that lightning can’t run through you and come out your back. That’s my job to coach that mentality and both of those guys have that mentality, but you definitely want to make sure you have guys that can do different jobs, bring different skill sets. Ultimately, I develop holistic running backs. I don’t want there to be any holes in their game. So I have to surround them with guys that do things that they don’t do yet, so when they pull from their teammates, it will allow them to develop overall."
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Audio: Notre Dame running backs coach Autry Denson talks about where McIntosh fits in the running backs room.
