In the new age of college football, it's never too early to start looking at some of the top juniors in the country. Even though signing day just passed by two weeks ago, college football coaches across the country have had their eyes out for the top talent from the last 6 months to, in some cases, 1 to 2 years.
Here is a quick look at 5 top juniors on the offensive side of the ball, that have a shown a mutual interest in Notre Dame. Whether or not these prospects choose Notre Dame, will be something Irish recruitniks will have to wait and see.
Keith Marshall is a 5-11 190lb running back from Raleigh North Carolina. Running back will be a major focus for the Irish coaching staff throughout the 2012 recruiting year. Following the upcoming 2011 season, the Irish backfield will return Cierre Wood, Cameron Roberson, Cam McDaniel. McDaniel is somebody that I think could play a few different positions (RB, Slot WR, DB), so running back may not be etched in stone for him. That could possibly leave Notre Dame with just two returning running backs following the 11' season.
As of the time this article was written (February 2011), Marshall has already received an astounding 21 scholarship offers from schools across the country...including Notre Dame. That is a number i'm sure will continue to rise.
Ronald Darby is a 5-11 172lb running back from Potomac HS in Oxon Hill Maryland. Darby is blessed with outstanding speed and is one of the nation's top high school track sprinters. Darby recently travelled to Japan to compete in the 60m where he finished an impressive 3rd place with a showing of 6.77 seconds. Darby plays both sides of the ball in high school and is equally as impressive on the defensive side of the ball. So far he has racked up 22 scholarship offers from the likes Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Penn State, Tennessee, and USC along with Notre Dame.
Gunner Kiel is a 6-4 220lb quarterback from Columbus East HS in Columbus Indiana. If the name sounds familiar to Irish fans, it should, as Gunner Kiel is the nephew of former four year starting Notre Dame quarterback Blair Kiel that went on to play in the NFL. The younger Kiel is hardly a lock for Notre Dame though, as he has colleges from all over the country hoping for his signature on Letter of Intent Day next February. So far, Kiel has 15 scholarship offers from the likes of Michigan, USC, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, and Iowa. On February 2nd, Notre Dame threw their hat into the mix by offering a scholarship to Kiel.
Dorial Green-Beckham is a 6-6 220lb wunderkind of a wide receiver. His size and speed combination make him a complete mismatch on the high school level. He is from Hillcrest HS in Springfield Missouri, where he stars on the basketball court along with the football field. Some have gone as far as calling him the best WR prospect since Randy Moss came out of Rand, West Virginia. Green-Beckham has already piled up 18 scholarship offers from a who's who list of college football powers including Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, LSU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, USC, and Notre Dame.
Maty Mauk is a kid that will not be listed as high on the overall player rankings as the above mentioned players, but that doesn't mean he can't play. Brian Kelly and the Irish coaching staff are very familiar with Mauk, as he is the younger brother of former Cincinnati Bearcat QB Ben Mauk that played under Kelly. The Irish coaching staff has had their eye on the younger Mauk since many of them were still with the Bearcats. Mauk is listed at 6-2 185lbs from Kenton Ohio. He plays in a spread offense very similar to the Irish offense and puts up jaw dropping numbers. His junior year alone, Mauk passed for an incredible 69 TD's and ran for another 16 more! He career numbers through three years are a staggering 151 TD passes, 13,500 passing yards, 1981 rushing yards, 35 rushing TD's.
No comments:
Post a Comment