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Home > Notre Dame Football > In Kelly-Harbaugh Recruit Fight, It’s Tied

Credit: Detroit Free Press

In Kelly-Harbaugh Recruit Fight, It’s Tied

January 19, 2017 by andrewwinn

In the constant tug-of-war for the attention of high school student-athletes, Brian Kelly and Jim Harbaugh are currently deadlocked.

Credit: Detroit Free Press

Credit: Detroit Free Press

Brian Kelly and his staff have convinced 21 student-athletes with Michigan offers to commit to Notre Dame, while Jim Harbaugh and his group have persuaded the same number to forgo Notre Dame offers and come to Ann Arbor, according to Her Loyal Sons research.

Michigan and Notre Dame have historically battled for outstanding players in midwestern states, although the skirmish has also expanded to the East Coast and California in the past 20 years.

WOLVERINES GRAB HIGHER RATED TALENT

Michigan has swayed 3 five-stars with Notre Dame offers to join their team, while Notre Dame has landed zero. The Irish have grabbed 16 four-stars to Michigan’s 13, while the Wolverines have 1 more three-star than the Irish group.

Credit: Melanie Maxwell / MLive.com

Credit: Melanie Maxwell / MLive.com

The six best players, according to Scout’s recruiting rankings, have all headed north: defensive tackle Rashan Gary (#1 overall, class of 2016); wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (#22, 2017); running back Kareem Walker (#28, 2016); offensive tackle Ben Bredeson (#36, 2016); cornerback David Long (#64, 2016) and tight end Devin Assisi (#67, 2016).

Bredeson made eight starts at left guard for the Wolverines last year and appeared in all of their games. He allowed five quarterback hurries, three hits and one sack in 256 pass blocking snaps, according to College Football Film Room. He was also given an honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team. Gary played in all of Michigan’s games as well, registering 26 tackles, nine tackles for loss, eight hurries, eight quarterback hits and just four missed tackles.

Asiasi played sparingly – being targeted just five times and catching 2 passes for 18 yards. Long appeared in four games, mostly on special teams. A quarterback never threw his way when he was in at cornerback, so he didn’t register any stats. Walker was a redshirt.

WHO HAS HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT SO FAR?

South Bend Tribune Photo/MICHAEL CATERINA

Credit: MICHAEL CATERINA / South Bend Tribune

Besides Bredeson’s and Gary’s notable freshman seasons, the Irish have two players who have made equal or greater impacts on their team so far.

Dexter Williams was the first to spurn the Wolverines in favor of the Irish after Harbaugh’s hiring in Ann Arbor on Dec. 30, 2014. The running back has registered 281 yards rushing on 61 carries over two seasons. Williams has also found the end zone four times. At this point, he has proven himself a capable second back behind fellow rising junior Josh Adams.

Kevin Stepherson, a three-star unranked in Scout’s 300, had a surprisingly good freshman campaign, becoming quarterback DeShone Kizer’s third favorite target last year. Stepherson caught 25 balls for 474 yards, good for 14 first downs and five touchdowns.

WHAT’S AHEAD?

Despite posting a 4-8 season, the Irish have grabbed as many highly-rated recruits for their forthcoming class as Michigan.

Brock Wright / Photo: Scout.com

Brock Wright / Photo: Scout.com

The two teams have split Scout’s top 100 that received offers from both schools. Besides Peoples-Jones, Michigan will be welcoming four-star wide receiver Tarik Black (#90, 2017) and four-star outside linebacker Drew Singleton (#93) in the summer. Notre Dame has four-star tight end Brock Wright (#76) and four-star inside linebacker David Adams (#88) coming to South Bend instead of heading farther north.

We cannot discount timing, however. The Wolverines, fresh off their Orange Bowl appearance, have the momentum of late, grabbing five of the last six commits. Those all came since the college football season started. Four-star offensive tackle Aaron Banks (#163) is the lone individual to choose the Irish over Michigan recently.

KELLY & HARBAUGH AREN’T IMMUNE TO DECOMMITS

Of course, nothing is final with 2017 or 2018 recruits until they fax or e-mail their national letters of intent. Both schools have already seen commits suddenly change their minds.

Leonard Taylor, a three-star defensive end, initially picked the Wolverines over the Irish, but then de-committed before the season started. (He’s currently undecided.) Three-star running back A.J. Dillon also picked Michigan over Notre Dame, but then committed to Boston College shortly before Christmas.

Four-star outside linebacker Pete Werner chose Ohio State after initially picking the Irish. Most recently, four-star cornerback Elijah Hicks enrolled in Cal instead of honoring his verbal commitment to Notre Dame. Hicks held a Michigan offer, among several others.

COMPLETE LIST

Player Position Stars Scout Rank State Signed Shunned Class of Commit Date
Dexter Williams RB 4 114 FL ND Michigan 2015 2/4/15
Julian Okwara WDE 4 243 NC ND Michigan 2016 4/14/15
Liam Eichenberg OT 4 79 OH ND Michigan 2016 4/19/15
Ben Bredeson OT 4 36 WI Michigan ND 2016 6/17/15
Kevin Stepherson WR 3 NR FL ND Michigan 2016 6/19/15
Ron Johnson WDE 3 NR NJ Michigan ND 2016 6/25/15
Brock Wright TE 4 76 TX ND Michigan 2017 6/26/15
Spencer Perry S 3 NR FL ND Michigan 2016 6/29/15
Brad Hawkins WR 4 269 NJ Michigan ND 2016 7/3/15
Chase Claypool WR 4 280 Canada ND Michigan 2016 7/10/15
Ahmir Mitchell WR 4 131 NJ Michigan ND 2016 8/27/15
Cole Kmet TE 4 109 IL ND Michigan 2017 10/2/15
Khalid Kareem SDE 4 282 MI ND Michigan 2016 10/23/15
Carlo Kemp SDE 4 NR CO Michigan ND 2016 11/8/15
Daelin Hayes OLB 4 240 MI ND Michigan 2016 12/10/15
Devin Bush Jr. ILB 3 NR FL Michigan ND 2016 12/16/15
Kareem Walker RB 5 28 NJ Michigan ND 2016 12/17/15
Dylan Crawford WR 4 134 CA Michigan ND 2016 1/9/16
David Long CB 4 64 CA Michigan ND 2016 1/21/16
Elysee Mbem-Bosse ILB 3 NR GA Michigan ND 2016 1/24/16
Rashan Gary DT 5 1 NJ Michigan ND 2016 2/3/16
Devin Asiasi TE 4 67 CA Michigan ND 2016 2/3/16
Nate Johnson WR 3 NR TN Michigan ND 2016 2/3/16
Jonathan Jones OLB 3 NR FL ND Michigan 2016 2/3/16
David Adams ILB 4 88 PA ND Michigan 2017 3/20/16
Drew White ILB 3 NR FL ND Michigan 2017 3/21/16
Josh Ross ILB 4 196 MI Michigan ND 2017 3/22/16
Phillip Paea DT 3 NR MI Michigan ND 2017 4/2/16
Corey Malone-Hatcher WDE 4 297 MI Michigan ND 2017 6/2/16
Markese Stepp RB 4 193 IN ND Michigan 2018 6/19/16
Jayson Ademilola DT 4 211 NJ ND Michigan 2018 6/26/16
Justin Ademilola OLB NR NR NJ ND Michigan 2018 6/26/16
C.J. Holmes ATH 4 155 CT ND Michigan 2017 7/8/16
Robert Hainsey OG 4 129 FL ND Michigan 2017 7/10/16
Darnell Ewell DT 4 146 VA ND Michigan 2017 7/15/16
Ovie Oghoufo OLB 4 238 MI ND Michigan 2018 7/22/16
Donovan Jeter DE 4 NR PA Michigan ND 2017 10/23/16
Jaylen Kelly-Powell S 4 278 MI Michigan ND 2017 11/15/16
Aaron Banks OL 4 163 CA ND Michigan 2017 12/9/16
Tarik Black WR 4 90 CT Michigan ND 2017 12/14/16
Donovan Peoples-Jones WR 5 22 MI Michigan ND 2017 12/15/16
Drew Singleton OLB 4 93 NJ Michigan ND 2017 12/23/16
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andrewwinn
Assistant Editor
Notre Dame graduate, class of '02 (the Davie years!). A former newspaper and TV reporter, andrewwinn is now professionally involved in something far less fun to discuss than college football. A dad, a husband and a wannabe data nerd.





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Latest posts by andrewwinn (see all)
  • In Kelly-Harbaugh Recruit Fight, It’s Tied - January 19, 2017
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Filed Under: Notre Dame Football Tagged With: Aaron Banks, Ahmir Mitchell, Ben Bredeson, Brad Hawkins, Brian Kelly, Brock Wright, Carlo Kemp, Chase Claypool, CJ Holmes, Cole Kmet, Corey Malone-Hatcher, Daelin Hayes, Darnell Ewell, David Adams, David Long, Devin Asiasi, Devin Bush, Dexter Williams, Donovan Jeter, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Drew Singleton, Drew White, Dylan Crawford, Elysee Mbem-Bosse, Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Jayson Ademilola, Jim Harbaugh, Jonathan Jones, Josh Ross, Julian Okwara, Justin Ademilola, Kareem Walker, Kevin Stepherson, Khalid Kareem, Liam Eichenberg, Markese Stepp, Nate Johnson, Ovie Oghoufo, Phillip Paea, Rashan Gary, Robert Hainsey, Ron Johnson, Spencer Perry, Tarik Black

About andrewwinn

Assistant Editor
Notre Dame graduate, class of '02 (the Davie years!). A former newspaper and TV reporter, andrewwinn is now professionally involved in something far less fun to discuss than college football. A dad, a husband and a wannabe data nerd.

Read all posts by andrewwinn

Follow @HLS_NDtex

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