USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.
Last week we opened Friday Night Notes with a list of five college programs that stood out in the recruiting game. Michigan was on top, with honorable mentions for LSU, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Notre Dame. One of them stood head and shoulders above the competition this week, though.
Specifically, the Fighting Irish have dominated the 2024 recruiting cycle over the last eight days by picking up the following four recruits.
First, Notre Dame won out over 15 other schools for Canion’s commitment. According to the composite rankings, he’s currently No. 29 at his position and No. 28 overall in the ultra-competitive state of Georgia.
Charlotte Christian (NC) 4-star EDGE Bryce Young (April 29)
Two days later, the Irish gave a big boost to their defensive line with Bryce Young – no relation to the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Young is already an NFL-sized lineman at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds.
Chandler (Ariz.): 3-star S Kennedy Urlacher (May 1)
On Monday, Notre Dame added even more namepower, picking up a commitment from Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher’s son Kennedy. He turned down offers from 19 other schools.
Charlotte Christian (NC): 4-star WR Micah Gilbert (May 2)
Last but not least, they added another four-star receiver on Tuesday with Young’s teammate Gilbert, who’s the fifth-ranked player in North Carolina. He says his choice was about the pedigree:
“Notre Dame has that pedigree… I love what they have done in the past. They have a great reputation on and off the field, and the visit pushed them over the top. Everywhere I went, I had my list of requirements. And Notre Dame had everything I was looking for…”
Thanks to this influx of talent, the Fighting Irish class of 2024 has risen to No. 4 in the national rankings.
For more stories about Notre Dame football, check out Fighting Irish Wire.
Dylan Raiola now trending toward Georgia
The Dylan Raiola watch continues, now nearly five months removed from his decision to decommit from Ohio State. We last heard on this front that On3’s prediction model had USC as the new favorite to get Raiola’s commitment. However, that’s apparently no longer the case.
Steve Wiltfong at 247Sports has Georgia as his new crystal ball pick for Raiola. On3’s model also has Georgia on top at 69.1%. Nebraska and Oregon are also considered in the running.
Raiola (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) is the top-ranked quarterback prospect as well as the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024.
As for Georgia, they have utterly dominated college football each of the last two years, thanks to the strength of their defense. However, every single defender from their 2021 team has now been drafted – several of them by the Philadelphia Eagles. UGA’s starting quarterback Stetson Bennett has also moved on to the next level, getting picked by the LA Rams in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Finding a quality replacement for Bennett will be a critical task for Kirby Smart and his staff – and adding QB1 in the class certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Lagging Longhorns offer 5 new recruits
Texas did a superb job during the 2023 recruiting cycle. The Longhorns landed the No. 1 overall player in QB Arch Manning, the No. 1 ranked running back in Cedric Baxter Jr., and the third-ranked class overall.
However, things have gotten off to an extremely slow start for Texas in 2024 compared to other elite recruiting programs around the country. To date, they have only gotten the commitments of two players in this class: Clear Lake (Texas) four-star athlete Hunter Moddon and Cy-Fair (Texas) three-star quarterback Trey Owens. They also have a punter transfer but this group ranks No. 63 in the nation.
Needless to say, head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff have some catching up to do. In that spirit, they’ve made several new offers recently to recruits in the classes of 2024 and 2025. The full list includes the following:
Summer Creek (Texas) 4-star Edge Chad Woodfork (2025)
Woodfork (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) is the highest-ranked prospect of the bunch. He’s seventh at his position, fifth in the state and No. 47 nationally, going by the composite rankings.
Red Oak (Texas) 4-star Edge Kamauryn Morgan (2025)
Morgan (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) ranks No. 13 at his position and No. 21 overall in the state. He has 16 other offers on the table.
Gonzaga (DC) 4-star DL DD Holmes (2024)
Holmes (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) is the second-ranked player in Washington D.C., and has offers from 14 other schools, including Florida and Penn State.
Memorial (Texas) 4-star DL Michael Riles (2025)
According to the composite rankings, Riles (6-foot-4, 235 pounds) ranks No. 12 at his position and No. 17 overall in Texas.
Seguin (Texas) unranked WR Carterrious Brown (2025)
Brown (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) also has offers from Baylor and UTSA.
More recruiting news from around the College Wires network
College Sports Wire:
On3 predicts 5-star WR Micah Hudson to Texas Tech
UGA Wire:
4-star RB Taylor Tatum names top schools
Buckeyes Wire:
Ohio State gets commitment from 4-star RB
Nittany Lions Wire:
Penn State adds 4-star RB Corey Smith to Class of 2024
Gators Wire:
Florida coaches visit prospects at IMG Academy
Gators get first commitment from WR in 2024
Vols Wire:
Tennessee makes top-six for FCS Freshman All-American transfer
Wolverines Wire:
Top Michigan WR prospect will announce commitment this weekend
Badgers Wire:
Where does Wisconsin land in 2024 recruiting rankings?
Ducks Wire:
Top-ranked recruits react to Oregon Ducks spring game visit
Cornhuskers Wire:
In-state receiver sets official visit with Nebraska
Aggies Wire:
