Today, Monday, June 25, is the start of the dead period. A period in which college coaches cannot have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, and may not watch student-athletes compete or visit their high schools. During this time, coaches may write and telephone student-athletes or their parents.

Notre Dame currently holds the nation’s No. 7 overall class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. The Fighting Irish trail Oregon by less than two points and Oklahoma by less than three points. In other words, a single commitment could put Notre Dame back in the top five. Fighting Irish recruiting has been on a roll this offseason.



Since the start of April, class of 2019 recruits have been all over the country on official and unofficial visits. Notre Dame has taken full advantage of the past four months. The Irish coaching staff was able to get a ton of top targets on campus, secured some commitments, and made a move for multiple prospects.



Four-star offensive lineman Zeke Correll was in town on Apr. 7. He spent a ton of time with the staff and it was then that the Irish made a big move for his services. He then returned on June 16 for an official visit and the staff secured his commitment that weekend while on campus. Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson and many others were vying for his services, but he was all Irish in the end.



Four-star offensive guard John Olmstead was on campus on Apr. 9. Notre Dame landed his commitment just 11 days later. Like with Correll, it was this visit that ended his recruitment. Getting him to campus early played a big role in securing his pledge.



Four-star quarterback Drew Pyne, a standout in the class of 2020, made his way to campus on Apr. 12. He got things started for the Irish next cycle when he announced his commitment just days after that unofficial visit. He committed to Notre Dame on Apr. 16 over offers from Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma and many others.

Another visitor on Apr. 12 was four-star safety Litchfield Ajavon. Notre Dame targeted him extremely early and got him on campus a few times throughout his process. It looks like Notre Dame closed well during his visit because he committed to the Irish nine days later on Apr. 21.

The annual Blue-Gold Spring Game took place on Apr. 23 and to nobody’s surprise, the stands were filled with many top targets from the 2019 class, as well as arguably the No. 1 offensive target in the 2020 class.

Four-star offensive lineman Quinn Carroll returned to campus for the spring game and like many others before him, pledged to the Irish shortly after that trip. He announced his commitment on May 1 over offers from Alabama, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State and others.

Four-star defensive end Howard Cross was also in attendance at the Blue-Gold game. He committed that weekend and announced his pledge shortly after leaving campus on Apr. 22.

Four-star linebacker Osita Ekwonu took his official visit that weekend and it was that trip that was the difference-maker. He would announce his commitment nearly two months later on June 14, but all signs pointed toward the Irish winning this battle that weekend.

Arguably the biggest visitor in town that weekend was four-star defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah, who was in town on an official visit. This was a two-team battle with Texas, but his time with the Notre Dame players during this trip seemed to seal the deal for the Irish. He announced his commitment on May 19 following a final official visit to Texas. This was a huge win for the Irish.

Four-star wide receiver A.J. Henning, an elite talent from the 2020 class, took a visit to Notre Dame that weekend. The entire staff made him a priority and left quite the impression. Notre Dame remains in a close battle with Ohio State. Henning returned this past weekend, the final chance for a visit before the dead period started.

Other notable visitors for the spring game included four-star cornerback Woodi Washington and three-star wide receiver Kendall Abdur-Rahman. Notre Dame is a top contender for Washington, who was in town for a two-day trip, as well as Abdur-Rahman, who has the Irish in his top five.

Although he wasn’t in town for the spring game, three-star offensive tackle Andrew Kristofic showed up a few days later at Notre Dame on Apr. 23. That visit caught many by surprise. However, it wasn’t a shocker when he announced his commitment shortly after leaving campus that same day. That was a massive pull for the Irish, as Clemson, Ohio State and many others were all pushing for his services.

May was a relatively quiet month for Notre Dame recruiting, but the staff made sure to not go an entire month without landing a commitment. The staff hosted three-star punter Jay Bramblett on May 26 and he pledged to the Irish staff before leaving campus. He went public with his decision on May 30. He’s expected to takeover the starting job as a true freshman when Tyler Newsome graduates.



Three-star linebacker Jack Kiser took an under-the-radar trip to Notre Dame on May 30. It was, according to a source, the moment the Fighting Irish staff became clear that good news was coming for Notre Dame. He committed less than two weeks later on June 12.

Notre Dame hosted a few more recruits on June 2. One ended up committing and the other could join the class very soon.

Four-star tight end Kevin Bauman, the nation’s No. 2 player at his position in the class of 2020, made it to campus with his parents. Are you noticing a trend yet? Just 11 days after his visit, he announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish.

The staff also hosted three-star wide receiver Cam Hart that day. As we reported at the time, Notre Dame extended a scholarship that weekend and continues to push hard for his services. With a decision expected in early July, it’s hard to see the Fighting Irish losing out on the priority target with a ton of versatility on both sides of the ball.



Notre Dame has one of the nation’s top offensive line classes this cycle and hosted a big-time target on June 6 in an attempt to add a ridiculous amount of size to that group. The Irish brought in four-star offensive tackle Julius Buelow, all 6-8, 320 pounds of him. Notre Dame is definitely in his top group, but whether they land him or not remains to be seen. A return official visit in the fall could help greatly.



The weekend of June 16 was a big one for Notre Dame recruiting.

It was the point where, as noted above, four-star offensive lineman Zeke Correll committed to the Irish.

It was also the last visit for three-star running back Kyren Williams, who announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish just days later on June 21.

Notre Dame also firmly cemented itself as a top contender for three-star defensive ends David Ojabo and Aeneas DiCosmo that weekend. The Irish also moved up the leaderboard for four-star offensive guard Saleem Wormley and four-star linebacker Asa Turner. Both of them are expected to announce their decisions soon and Notre Dame is a threat for both. That weekend was also an important weekend for quarterback recruiting, as the staff hosted three-star signal-caller Brendon Clark. He’ll announce his commitment on July 4 and is expected to choose either the Fighting Irish or North Carolina. Clemson is also a threat.



Things wrapped up this past weekend on June 23. Four-star linebacker Tristan Sinclair arrived for his official visit and with him being the lone visitor, you know the red carpet was laid out. Notre Dame, Stanford, Cal and USC are the contenders here. The Irish want one more linebacker this cycle and are sitting very much in the mix for both Sinclair and four-star linebacker Asa Turner. We’ll see how things shake out, but the Irish need one of them.



Now the recruiting calendar has gone 'dead.’ While schools are limited in what they are able to do with recruits during a dead period, plenty of recruiting still occurs, especially with many prospects feeling pressure to make a decision before the start of their upcoming seasons.



During the dead period, some national events loaded with top recruits occur such as 'The Opening.’ This is an instance where a school's commitments tend to act as lead recruiters for remaining targets. But college coaches cannot have a presence at such events.



The dead period goes until July 24th.



July 25th to July 31st is a quiet period. During a quiet period, a college coach may only have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents on the college’s campus. A coach may not watch student-athletes compete (unless a competition occurs on the college’s campus) or visit their high schools. Coaches may write or telephone college-bound student-athletes or their parents during this time.



Colleges will begin preseason practices and such in early August. Unofficial visits can occur during that time. Official visits will resume with the start of the regular season.



Defining other NCAA recruiting calendar terms:



Evaluation period: During an evaluation period a college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period.



Contact period: During a contact period a college coach may have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents, watch student-athletes compete and visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents.

