Irish Sports Daily

You've heard of the old adage "a man amongst boys"? Well four years ago Marlington High School (Alliance,Ohio) head coach Ed Miley got to visually experience this saying first hand watching a junior high football game. On the field was a eighth grader named Alden Hill just dominating the game.

There was never really much doubt about the willingness Josh Atkinson (Livermore, Calif./Granada) had to be great.  As a junior Atkinson showed the kind of attitude, toughness, and effort to be one of the state’s most sought-after prospects.  The 6-foot-0 cornerback also showed he had the speed and agility to be a good football player; but what Atkinson lacked was the technique and instincts to really dominate on the perimeter of the defense.  It was a big reason Atkinson was often overshadowed by his brother George, who was an offensive star at Granada High School and is considered one of the nation’s top prospects.  Atkinson traveled all over the country during the summer before his senior season, trying to develop as a player and show that all the offers that came his way were based on his ability, not because he happened to be the brother of George Atkinson.  Atkinson, who helped lead Granada to the third round of the CIF playoffs, showed off his improved technique and instincts all season and developed into one of the West Coast’s premier defensive backs.  Granada’s 8-5 finish was their first winning season in seven years.  Notre Dame needed a deep and talented haul of defensive backs in the Class of 2011.  The Granada standout committed to the Irish in September, giving Notre Dame a player who showed in 2010 that he has the size, athleticism, and ability to be everything Notre Dame needs and looks for in a cornerback.

The state of Texas produces a number of high quality players. Though most of these players make the choice to stay in the the Lone Star State, some choose to go against the grain.

The Irish have had luck drawing some of these athletes to South Bend, players like Nick Tausch, Kapron Lewis-Moore and Chris Stewart. Westbury High School 2012 prospect Christian Okafor of Houston could possibly be the next one.

Memphis athlete Cameron Clear got a phone call he’s been waiting for last night, but the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder from Memphis Central High School is going to have to wait a little longer to find out what it means.

Notre Dame assistant Tim Hinton phoned Clear on Wednesday night to inform the Memphis prospect the Irish were extending an official scholarship offer.

“Once you start getting the Dukes, the Stanfords and all of that, you kind of want to know where you stand with schools like Notre Dame,” Clear’s father, Michael, told Irish Sports Daily on Thursday morning. “We kind of knew where he did, not being arrogant or anything like that.”

Hinton was at Memphis Central to visit Clear last week, but couldn’t officially offer him a scholarship until he reached Irish head coach Brian Kelly. Still, Hinton gave clear indications that an offer was probable.

“He’s excited for the offer,” Michael Clear said. “He’s excited that he did get the offer, but the expectations were there.”

Clear also has offers from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Memphis and Tennessee. Even with an official offer to Notre Dame now in hand, the Clears still want to talk to the Irish staff a bit more before setting up an official, which would most likely occur in the middle of January.

“I can’t guarantee that we will or will not take an official there,” Michael Clear said. “I don’t know at this time…Hopefully, we will be looking forward to a visit up to Notre Dame.

“Right now, we’re still in the beginning stages with this recruiting thing and Notre Dame. We know nothing about Notre Dame. We know about the school, but we don’t know anything about Coach Kelly or the offensive coordinator. We’ve only met the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for this area.”

The Clears are looking forward to discussing Notre Dame’s view of Cameron at the next level.

“I know they offered, but do you really want him?” Mr. Clear said. “We don’t know. I don’t know what they think about him because we haven’t had those conversations to this moment.”

Those discussions will be centered upon whether the Irish see Clear as an offensive tackle or tight end.

“Cam doesn’t want to play offensive tackle,” Michael Clear said clearly. “I don’t know what their intentions are. He wants to play tight end. That’s his passion, that’s what he wants to do. He knows that he can be productive, we’ve seen that. That’s what he wants to do. I don’t know where Notre Dame wants to play him.”

If the Irish want Cameron to play offensive tackle, the family probably won’t waste its time with a visit.

“That’s not where he wants to play,” Clear reiterated. “I don’t think he wouldn’t be interested in Notre Dame, but he wants to play tight end.

“If that’s what the school wants and it’s not conducive to what he wants, that’s a mutual disagreement between both parties and it just wouldn’t work. Once again, it goes back to us talking to Coach Kelly and his offensive coordinator and trying to see what they’re trying to recruit him for.

“It’s going to take some time to build some relationships with these guys to figure out exactly how he fits in to what Notre Dame’s trying to do.”

Clear is wrapping up finals today and isn't sure if he'll hear from Notre Dame before the start of Monday's dead period. But once the dead period comes, Cameron’s phone will be off and he'll be focused on basketball and upcoming tournaments in South Carolina and Atlanta until the new year.

“We won’t be in communication with any coaches,” Michael Clear said. “His phone will be off, concentrating on what he’s got to be concentrating on.”