While out on the recruiting trail, the Notre Dame coaching staff has been pushing hard for a few prospects that are currently committed to Wisconsin.

The Fighting Irish staff is doing all it can to flip Mission (Kan.) Blue Valley North four-star quarterback Graham Mertz, a top signal-caller from the class of 2019. He’s been committed to the Badgers since Oct. 8, 2017, but continues to communicate with Notre Dame.

The Irish are also heavily pursuing Menomonee Falls (Wisc.) high school three-star running back Julius Davis, the nation’s No. 34 back in the class of 2019. He has been committed to Wisconsin since Nov. 21, 2017, but a trip to South Bend is still expected over the next month or two. We’ll see if Notre Dame can make a move there when he gets on campus.

Earlier this week, Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn stopped by Bishop Dwenger high school in Fort Wayne, Ind., to see three-star offensive tackle Joe Tippmann, another Wisconsin commit from the class of 2019. The Irish assistant checked in on the Badgers pledge on Monday.

"When we talked on the phone, coach was kind of inferring that if I were to visit, I'd probably get an offer," said Tippmann. "He didn't say it outright, but he made it clear they were interested. We've talked about visiting, but I'm not sure. I'm completely happy and set on Wisconsin. No doubt about that."

At this point, the 6-6, 283-pounder doesn’t hold a Notre Dame offer. However, behind closed doors, one is being discussed. One likely wouldn’t come his way unless he showed enough interest to return to South Bend for another visit, as noted above, so at this point it’s more of a waiting game. The fact is, Quinn has shown much more interest in the in-state talent than former offensive line coach Harry Hiestand did, so an offer is at least in the conversation at this point. Tippmann visited Notre Dame in November to check out game day against Navy and was in town for an offseason camp prior to that. However, he hasn’t been on campus to meet with Quinn since his arrival on staff.

Tippmann remains solid in his pledge to Wisconsin and has been an active recruiter for the Badgers 2019 class. He chose Wisconsin over offers from Ball State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Purdue and Northwestern. So, would a Notre Dame offer change his mind? That remains to be seen. In a previous interview with 247Sports insider Evan Flood, Tippmann took a firm stance on that question.

“It really wouldn't make a difference," said Tippmann to our Wisconsin recruiting analyst. “Notre Dame is a great school, but it's not Wisconsin."

Per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Tippmann is listed as the No. 55 offensive tackle nationally and No. 9 prospect in Indiana from the 2019 class. According to 247Sports standalone rankings, he's ranked as a four-star recruit, the No. 34 player at his position and No. 7 recruit in the Hoosier State.

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