Notre Dame football recruiting notebook: QB Allen picks A&M over Irish
Kyle Allen put the recruiting world on pause with one tweet on Monday. A second tweet ruined Twitter feeds and the hopes of college football fans across the country.
The four-star quarterback from Scottsdale, Ariz., tweeted at 3:32 p.m. EDT that he would announce the school of his choice in 28 minutes.
At 4 p.m., he announced a verbal commitment to Texas A&M, bringing an abrupt end to a recruitment which had just recently been narrowed down to five schools.
Shortly after Allen announced his choice Twitter stopped functioning. Fans of Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA and Oklahoma State were left looking for other quarterbacks to add to their wish list.
Allen, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound pro-style quarterback, had previously lined up a two-day visit to Notre Dame for June 10-11 which made the announcement that much more surprising. Contacted after his commitment, Allen said he would no longer be visiting Notre Dame.
Rivals.com ranks Allen as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2014 class and 247Sports.com slates him at No. 4 under that designation.
Allen appeared to have emerged as the top Irish quarterback target in the 2014 class following an offer in late April. The outcome of his scheduled June visit had the chance to direct recruiting at the position for the remainder of the cycle for the Irish. Now Notre Dame will have to keep digging elsewhere or keep pursuing Allen.
Three other quarterbacks have reported offers from Notre Dame in the 2014 class: Brandon Dawkins of Westlake Village, Calif., David Cornwell of Norman, Okla., and Jacob Park of Goose Creek, S.C.
Dawkins publicly expressed a want to commit to Notre Dame in the immediate aftermath of Everett Golson’s announced departure from the team in the fall, but a mutual agreement on a commitment was never reached with Allen’s planned visit looming. The 6-4, 210-pound prospect ranks as the No. 14 dual-threat quarterback on Rivals and No. 12 on 247Sports.
Cornwell (6-5, 235) is slated as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback by 247Sports and No. 3 by Rivals. Park (6-3, 200) comes in as the No. 8 pro-style quarterback on 247Sports and No. 9 on Rivals.
The Irish may look to offer more prospects at the position and could even look at players verbally committed elsewhere, which has worked in the past for Brian Kelly. Golson had a commitment to North Carolina, Gunner Kiel was infamously committed to Indiana and LSU before a late switch to Notre Dame and Luke Massa, who was recruited as a quarterback and has struggled to break through at Notre Dame as a quarterback or wide receiver, switched his commitment from Cincinnati to Notre Dame to follow Kelly in 2010.
Irish make top lists for DBs
Two Notre Dame recruiting targets in the 2014 class recently named the Irish in their top group.
On Saturday, defensive back Quincy Wilson named the Irish in a top 12. The 6-2, 198-pound prospect from University School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., highlighted the following schools in no particular order: South Carolina, UCLA, USC, Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, North Carolina State, Florida, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Louisville and Vanderbilt.
Rivals ranks Wilson as the No. 10 cornerback and the No. 150 prospect overall. 247Sports slates Wilson as the No. 60 safety.
On Sunday, defensive back Adoree Jackson released his top 10 schools. The 5-11, 175-pound athlete from Junipero Serra in Gardena, Calif., listed the following 10 schools in alphabetical order: Florida, Florida State, Illinois, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State. Tennessee, UCLA and USC.
Jackson ranks as the No. 2 cornerback by Rivals and the No. 9 prospect overall. 247Sports slates Jackson as the No. 3 cornerback and No. 17 overall.
New offer to Georgia LB
Kevin Mouhon, a 2014 linebacker, reported a new offer from Notre Dame via Twitter.
The 6-2, 225-pound prospect from Norcross (Ga.) High teams with another Irish target Lorenzo Carter.
247Sports slates Mouhon as the No. 6 inside linebacker and No. 147 overall. Rivals ranks Mouhon as the No. 15 outside linebacker. Other programs to offer Mouhon include Florida, Florida State, Louisville and Ohio State.
Staff writer Tyler James: tjames1@sbtinfo.com
