Three-star WR Geordon Porter drops Notre Dame commitment
For the second straight week, Notre Dame's football program has lost a verbal commitment in its 2018 recruiting class.
On Saturday, Dec. 2, four-star running back Markese Stepp left the class. This Saturday, three-star wide receiver Geordon Porter did the same.
"Yet with the many recent changes within college football, I have decided to decommit and reopen my recruitment to other college football programs," Porter wrote as part of a statement released on Twitter. "I feel it is within my best interest to make sure I am making the right decision as it relates to my future for the next 4 years."
— GP® (@GeordonPorter) December 9, 2017
Last week, Porter hosted Irish head coach Brian Kelly, wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian for an in-home visit. In the days following the visit from the Notre Dame coaching staff, Porter's father said his son intended to sign early with the Irish on Dec. 20.
Now Notre Dame is left with 17 verbal commitments in the 2018 class and only two wide receivers: Kevin Austin and Micah Jones. Rivals rates both Austin and Jones as four-star recruits.
When asked for comment on his son's decision to leave Notre Dame's class, George Porter said the following in a text message: "Geordon has decided to look at additional options that would fit him best. Not any specific reasons."
Geordon Porter, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior at Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Etiwanda, originally committed to Notre Dame on Nov. 1. In addition to his trip to see the Irish play against Georgia in September, Porter made official visits to Arizona State and Utah before committing to the Irish.
247Sports slates Porter as the No. 57 wide receiver in the 2018 class. Rivals ranks him No. 68.
Porter missed five games in his senior season with a broken collarbone. In the six games Porter did play, he caught 23 passes for 468 yards and five touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
When Porter was in Notre Dame's class, the Irish were still pursuing multiple receivers. Adding a fourth wide receiver may have been more of a luxury than a necessity. The need to replace Porter should make for an interesting finish to the recruiting cycle at wide receiver.
Notre Dame is currently hosting former Irish wide receiver commit Braden Lenzy, who also became a former Oregon commit on Tuesday, on an official visit this weekend. Notre Dame's coaching staff has also made visits to see Amon-Ra St. Brown, Chase Cota, Tommy Bush and Lawrence Keys in the last two weeks.
The Irish originally targeted Porter on the same day in June that Lenzy dropped his initial commitment to Notre Dame. When Lenzy flipped to Oregon, Notre Dame turned to Porter to replace Lenzy's speed.
Porter ran the 100-meter dash in 10.68 seconds in May. Lenzy recorded a season-best time of 10.62 in April.
Both recruits appeared to be answers for Notre Dame's need for speed in the 2018 class. The latest development has left the Irish chasing once again.
tjames@ndinsider.com
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Twitter: @TJamesNDI
