Notebook: 2018 LB Matthew Bauer fits Notre Dame profile
It may only be a matter of time before Matthew Bauer lands a Notre Dame scholarship offer.
That time could come Wednesday when the 2018 linebacker prospect returns to South Bend for his second campus visit of the summer. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder from Erie, Pa., also competed at the Irish Invasion camp in June.
“He’s a big-time linebacker,” said CBS Sports Network recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. “He’s outstanding. I’m sure they’ll offer him.”
If Notre Dame decides to offer, it will join an offer list that already includes Michigan State, Penn State and Pittsburgh.
Bauer falls into two categories that Notre Dame has already had success with in the 2017 and 2018 recruiting classes. First, he plays linebacker. The Irish have three commitments at the position in the 2017 class (David Adams, Pete Werner and Drew White) and two in 2018 (Justin Ademilola and Ovie Oghoufo). Recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Elston could continue that fast position pace by pushing for Bauer.
Bauer also comes from Western Pennsylania, which has produced four commitments in Notre Dame’s 2017 class (Josh Lugg, Kurt Hinish, Robert Hainsey and Adams) and one in 2018 (Phil Jurkovec).
247Sports slates Bauer as the No. 2 inside linebacker recruit in the 2018 class. He recorded 104 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks in his sophomore season at Erie Cathedral Prep.
Offensive line recruit Aaron Banks said he also plans to visit Notre Dame on either Wednesday or Thursday this week. The four-star target in the 2017 class wants to stop in South Bend before heading to Michigan for a weekend visit.
The 6-foot-7, 344-pound lineman from El Cerrrito, Calif., reported a Notre Dame offer on June 22. As the Irish search for at least one more commitment on the offensive line in his class, Banks could emerge as a new priority. Foster Sarell, Trey Smith and Jedrick Wills are among the remaining top targets to join Robert Hainsey, Josh Lugg and Dillan Gibbons on the line.
The Irish will have to beat out the likes of USC, UCLA, Michigan and others in Banks’ recruitment. Rivals ranks Banks as the No. 14 offensive tackle in the 2017 class. 247Sports slates him 24th at the position.
Clicking coaches
College football coaches started to show love to recruits in a new way Monday. Due to a change in NCAA rules, coaches are now allowed to retweet, like, share or repost content on social media originally shared by recruits.
Twitter timelines started lighting up Sunday at midnight with college coaches across the country retweeting posts. The frequency of those retweets varied greatly. Tennessee head coach Butch Jones reportedly logged more than 100 retweets in the first day. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has yet to hand out a retweet to a recruit.
Other members of the Irish coaching staff did dip their toes into the retweet waters with recruiting coordinator Mike Elston, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, tight ends coach Scott Booker and defensive backs coach Todd Lyght taking advantage of the new rule. The retweets were used to share old commitment tweets from current Irish recruits and scholarship offers for some Notre Dame targets.
The official Notre Dame football Twitter account, @NDFootball, was used for the same. Coordinator of recruiting operations Aaryn Kearney was the first Notre Dame staff member to start retweeting recruits early Monday morning.
Monday also was the first day that colleges could extend written scholarship offers to 2017 recruits. Several Notre Dame recruits shared images of those offers on Monday. The offers are non-binding and are only a more formal representation of the verbal offers Notre Dame has already extended.
Good news
Four recruiting targets in the 2017 class named Notre Dame as a top school in the last week.
• WR Jeremiah Holloman, 6-2, 192; Covington (Ga.) Newton: Holloman named a top 12 last Wednesday that included Tennessee, Miami, Georgia, Penn State, Notre Dame, Auburn, Michigan State, LSU, Oklahoma State, USC, North Carolina and Oregon.
247Sports slates Holloman, who has yet to visit Notre Dame, as a four-star recruit and the No. 11 wide receiver. Rivals ranks him as a three-star prospect and the No. 56 athlete.
• WR Noah Igbinoghene, 6-0, 195; Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.) High: Igbinoghene not only included Notre Dame in his top five on Friday, but he listed the Irish as co-leaders alongside Duke. Virginia Tech, Missouri and Maryland rounded out the list.
247Sports slates Igbinoghene, who received a Notre Dame offer in May, as a four-star recruit and the No. 31 wide receiver. Rivals rates him as a three-star prospect.
• S Chaz Ah You, 6-2, 199; Provo (Utah) Timpview: The four-star recruit released a top 12 on Monday that included BYU, Iowa, California, Vanderbilt, Utah, Utah State, UCLA, Stanford, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Washington.
Both Rivals and 247Sports peg Ah You, who visited Notre Dame in March, as the No. 15 safety in the 2017 class.
• DE Chris Whittaker, 6-3, 256; Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna: The three-star recruit included Notre Dame in his top six on Monday alongside South Carolina, Central Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky and South Florida.
Whittaker, who has yet to visit Notre Dame, ranks as the No. 45 weakside defensive end in the 2017 class according to 247Sports.
Bad news
A pair of Notre Dame targets in the 2017 class recently turned their attention elsewhere.
• WR Hezekiah Jones, 6-0, 193, Stafford (Texas) High: The four-star recruit announced his commitment to Texas A&M on Friday. The former Baylor commit previously visited Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold Game in April.
Rivals ranks Jones as the No. 16 wide receiver in the 2017 class. 247Sports slates him 28th at the position.
• DE LaBryan Ray, 6-4, 260; Madison (Ala.) James Clemens: Notre Dame didn’t make Ray’s cut for his top six. The four-star recruit announced his top schools — Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Ole Miss — on Sunday. Notre Dame was included in Ray’s top 12 in May.
247Sports slates Ray as the No. 5 strongside defensive end in the 2017 class. Rivals ranks him 12th at the position.
tjames@ndinsider.com
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Twitter: @TJamesNDI
