2018 CB Houston Griffith latest in unofficial visit surge for Notre Dame
Fast recruiting starts don’t happen without a push for unofficial visits.
As Notre Dame has built a 2018 class with 10 verbal commitments, the Irish have relied on getting recruits on campus early and often.
At least 34 recruits who have reported Notre Dame offers in the 2018 class have already made one or more unofficial visits to South Bend.
The carousel of visitors continued on campus in the past few days.
On Saturday, Notre Dame hosted four-star cornerback target Houston Griffith. The son of former NFL fullback Howard Griffith has been a frequent visitor in the past. But Houston Griffith has had fewer opportunities to travel to South Bend since transferring from Chicago’s Mount Carmel to Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.
Still Griffith attended the Stanford game in October before returning to Notre Dame on Saturday. Rivals ranks the 6-foot, 181-pound Griffith as the No. 2 athlete in the 2018 class. 247Sports slates him as the No. 12 cornerback.
The Irish also hosted several recruits from the Explosion Sports Academy, a training group from the St. Louis area, on Saturday. The Explosion Sports Flight team played in a seven-on-seven tournament in Chicago over the weekend. It allowed the group to make a short trip to South Bend.
One member of the Explosion Sports Academy, four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb, has already received a scholarship offer from Notre Dame. The 6-1, 189-pound recruit added an Irish offer back in September.
247Sports slates Babb as the No. 3 wide receiver in the 2018 class. Rivals ranks him No. 11 at the position.
Other notable members to visit with Explosion Sports included three-star wide receiver prospect Cameron Brown and wide receiver/defensive back prospect Dallas Craddieth.
More prospects made their way to Notre Dame on Monday. With the Best of the Midwest Combine being held in Indianapolis during the day, South Bend served as a pit stop for some recruits making the trip back home to Michigan.
Offensive lineman Tyrone Sampson, a four-star prospect from Detroit’s East English Village, posted photos from his visit on Twitter. Rivals ranks Sampson as the No. 2 center in the 2018 class.
Devontae Dobbs, a 2019 prospect from Belleville (Mich.) High, also made the trip with Sampson. 247Sports slates Dobbs as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2019 class.
Dobbs said he was joined by three of his teammates on the visit: 2019 wide receiver Julian Barnett, 2020 cornerback Andre Seldon and 2021 lineman Damon Payne.
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, a 2018 prospect from Dearborn (Mich.) Divine Child, said he also visited Notre Dame on Monday. 247Sports pegs the 6-4, 227-pound Hutchinson as the No. 5 strongside defensive end in the class.
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