Los Angeles 7-on-7 team to visit Notre Dame on Monday

None of Notre Dame’s signed, committed or uncommitted football recruits have heard much from pending tight ends coach John McNulty and cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens.

That includes D.J. Harvey, a two-way player out of Chatworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon High, who will visit South Bend on Monday. Harvey holds a Notre Dame scholarship offer and will be joined by 17 of his teammates on Premium Sports, a renowned 7-on-7 team from Los Angeles.

Notre Dame’s standard employment process prohibits pending coaches from official team involvement until a couple benchmarks are cleared. With recruits visiting college campuses beginning next week, the Irish are working to finalize the hirings of McNulty and Mickens.

If that announcement comes Monday, Harvey could become the first Irish target to hear Mickens’ message in person. Harvey said he knows little of Mickens, who comes to Notre Dame from the University of Cincinnati.

The Irish recently started pursuing the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Harvey, offering him on Jan. 23.

“If I like (Notre Dame), I’ll go back again and see it,” Harvey said. “But I just want to see it first with my eyes and see if I really like it. If I do like it and I like the atmosphere, then I’ll stick with it. But I’ll wait until I go up there.”

The Irish project Harvey at wide receiver and cornerback. He recorded 84 catches for 1,465 yards and seven touchdowns this past season to go with 35 tackles, 25 pass breakups and four interceptions in 16 games.

Head coach Brian Kelly and wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander have headed Harvey’s recruitment, contacting him twice per week.

“(Del Alexander) is a great guy,” said Harvey, the nephew of former Washington standout and 11-year NFL linebacker Joe Kelly. “The way he talks about his players, the way he wants his best athletes on the field, no matter what age, that’s a great feeling for me. A lot of recruits go to their school, and they have to redshirt.

“I mean, redshirting isn’t bad. But when you are feeling a little hot your senior year, you want the ball to keep rolling.”

Harvey is a four-star cornerback per 247Sports in the 2021 recruiting class, ranking him No. 16 at the position and No. 184 overall. Rivals considers Harvey as a three-star athlete, slating him No. 30 at the position and outside its top 250 overall players. He holds scholarship offers from LSU, Oregon, USC, Auburn and others.

Harvey appears far from a commitment decision, telling the Tribune he plans to make the announcement in December.

“A school that’s going to give me a chance early my freshman year, playing early,” Harvey said when asked about his ideal place. “A school that has a great academic program and programs for my degree. Then after football, would I like to stay out there? That’s a big question. When football season is done, would I be cool with staying out there instead of going home?”

Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State also expect to receive visits from Premium Sports within the next week. Here are a few of the other notable recruits visiting Notre Dame with Harvey.

• ATH Jaylin Smith, 5-11, 180; Mission Hills (Calif.) Bishop Alemany: Smith originally intended on visiting for Notre Dame’s Feb. 1 junior day but canceled those plans.

Clemson, Oregon, Texas and USC are among schools to have offered Smith. He told the Tribune Notre Dame will likely join them after he visits South Bend. That decision may require Mickens’ input, because the Irish project Smith more as a defensive back than an offensive player.

Notre Dame’s coaching staff visited Smith’s school during the evaluation period in January. Smith recorded 60 tackles, four tackles for a loss, two interceptions and a sack in 12 games last season.

247Sports: Four stars, No. 19 ATH, No. 290 overall | Rivals: Three stars, No. 36 ATH

• LB Raesjon Davis, 6-1, 215; Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei: The Irish receiving high interest from Davis seems unlikely. He verbally committed to LSU on Jan. 1 and has yet to garner a Notre Dame offer.

Yet Davis’ visit remains notable because of Notre Dame’s difficulty with linebacker recruiting this class. The Irish appear out of the mix for all seven 2021 linebackers they have offered to this point. Davis also represents the highest-ranked linebacker recruit to visit South Bend since Ohio State four-star signee Cody Simon last spring.

After electing to not take Simon (the younger brother of Irish linebacker Shayne Simon) or any other linebacker in its 2020 class, Notre Dame needs to land impact players at the position this cycle. Attracting Davis could be a start.

247Sports: Four stars, No. 4 OLB, No. 38 overall | Rivals: Four stars, No. 2 OLB, No. 48 overall

• ATH Anthony Beavers Jr., 6-1, 195; Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne: Considering Beavers’ recruiting pedigree and offer list, Notre Dame may look to join the mix and pursue him.

The four-star athlete ranks No. 17 at the position and No. 273 overall on 247Sports, while Rivals pegs him as its No. 10 athlete and No. 171 overall. LSU, Oregon, Florida, Florida State and USC are among schools to have offered Beavers.

Whether Beavers meets Notre Dame’s character and academics standards remains to be seen. His first visit to South Bend will be worth monitoring.

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