With very few spots left in the recruiting class of 2013 there are only a handful of recruits whose commitment the Notre Dame coaching staff would even accept. For the first time in the Kelly era, the Irish may very well be turning away recruits that only a year or two ago the Notre Dame coaching staff and fans would have coveted. Last week, though, one of the Irish’s most highly coveted remaining targets pulled the trigger for Notre Dame.
The huge success thus far with the 2013 recruiting class has enabled the coaching staff to also put considerable effort into the class of 2014 and this attention has already paid dividends. With two 2014 verbal commitments already the Irish have made an impact with this year’s juniors and have a number of top recruits that list them as their early leader. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Cole Luke CB, 6-0, 170, Hamilton High School, Chandler, AZ was considered by many pundits to be a long shot for Notre Dame but Luke’s coach, former Irish quarterback Steve Belles, has stated all along that he believed that Notre Dame had a much better chance that most thought. Belles proved to be correct when Luke verbally committed to the Irish last week.
“Every dog has his day,” laughed Belles after Luke’s commitment. “What he shared with me in terms of what he wanted academically, athletically and an opportunity to play early, I think Notre Dame met all those criteria. I’m not saying the other ones didn’t, it seemed like it was a little bit of a better fit for him.”
Belles has coached numerous FBS recruits over the past years, some of whom Notre Dame recruited heavily, but Luke (pictured) was the first to commit to his alma mater.
“I’ve had a few offers from there,” stated Belles. “The bottom line is it really does come down to their decision. I’ll never push a kid to go somewhere. He can ask me questions and all of that, but then he needs to ask the other people the right questions that he needs to get answers from.”
Belles believes that Luke made the right decision.
“For Cole, I think it’s a good fit for him,” the head coach opined. “I just think he’s a kid who will fit in well there. He’s a good student, he’s a good athlete and he’s very humble. I think he’ll fit in real well with that organization.”
Belles believes that Luke can come in and play right away.
“A couple of weeks ago he played against a kid named Nathan Phillips out here, who is committed to (Arizona) and considered by some to be the best receiver in the state,” he said. “Cole pretty much shut him down I thought. Needless to say, he has that ability to shut people down and take away that part of the field.”
Notre Dame defensive backs coach Bob Elliott has been recruiting Luke and was understandably excited by his commitment.
“He (Elliott) was ecstatic today,” related Belles. “I know he’d been working hard on trying to get Cole there and that’s a good coup d’etat by him needless to say.”
Andrew Trumbetti DE, 6-4, 250, Demarest High School, Demarest, NJ has had an outstanding season thus far, recording 10.5 sacks and his recruitment has picked up accordingly. He currently holds offers from Notre Dame, Maryland, Boston College, Rutgers, Purdue and Virginia. Trumbetti picked up an offer at a Notre Dame camp this summer and the Irish have been his leader ever since.
“They send me hand-written letters to my house,” informed Trumbetti. “I talk with Coach Kelly on Facebook, we message each other back and forth. That’s about it. They keep telling me I have to come back for a game, so hopefully I’ll be able to get back for one.”
Trumbetti hopes to get to a game this season and is targeting the Wake Forest game later this month.
“Hopefully,” Trumbetti said of a visit to South Bend. “I really want to go.”
While he has not set a timetable for any decision, he sounds like a young man that plans to decide sooner rather than later.
“When I feel like it’s time for me to commit, I’ll do it,” he explained. “Maybe after the season, it might be two weeks after the season. I don’t know. I’m just really not sure.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.
