Irish Sports Daily

Powe already has several offers.

One of Brian Kelly’s first recruiting trips as Notre Dame’s head coach was to Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Calif., to secure the signature of Justin Utupo for the recruiting class of 2010.

While he was meeting with Lakewood head coach Thadd MacNeal, Kelly learned about a couple young receiver prospects on the Lancer squad. Notre Dame assistant Mike Denbrock was back at Lakewood during the Irish bye week last month to check in with MacNeal about Darius Powe and Malik Gilmore, now juniors.

Powe has offers from most of the Pac-10 along with Miami and several others, but the 6-foot-2, 186-pound wideout has his father handling everything involved with his recruitment right now. Powe does say that California, Ohio State and Notre Dame stand out to him at the present time. Powe doesn’t have a Notre Dame offer, but MacNeal expects that to change.

“I presume they’ll offer him in the spring,” the coach said.

Gilmore stands at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and doesn’t have the offers Powe does, but that could be attributed to the fact he missed his entire sophomore season with a torn meniscus. Gilmore also has the potential to start reeling in big-time offers and is hearing from the Irish along with UCLA, Miami, LSU, California, Washington, Colorado, Duke, Oregon and Stanford.

“He’s a fantastic player,” MacNeal said of Gilmore. “He’s big. He’s 6-3, almost 200 pounds. He’s got a lot of upside, he’s got a good work ethic and he keeps improving each week. He’s going to be a dominating guy here in Southern California.

“Darius is a little smaller, but he’s still a big guy. He also plays free safety and returns punts.”

Gilmore missed his sophomore season with an injury.

Playing together for their junior seasons, Powe and Gilmore helped Lakewood to a 9-1 regular season record and a spot in the CIF-Pac 5 playoffs. Powe has caught 31 passes for 619 yards and six touchdowns while Gilmore has pulled down 21 passes for 316 yards and five scores. Gilmore’s presence has helped opened the field up more for Powe in Lakewood’s multiple offense.

“They can’t double-cover Darius,” MacNeal said. “They can’t put safeties over the top and things like that because they’ve got to deal with Malik on the backside. (Malik's) a vertical threat, he’s a great post-route runner. If you throw him a hitch, he always turns it into a nine or 10-yard gain, if not more.”

The duo are also close off the field.

“We’re like best friends,” said Powe, who hopes he can attend the same college as Gilmore as well. “We talk about that all of the time.”

MacNeal believes that both of his junior receivers would be fits in Kelly’s offense.

“Oh heck yeah,” he said. “I know Coach Kelly is looking for big, strong receivers and these guys fit that mold without a doubt.”

Utupo was also in Lakewood during the bye week and told everyone back home he’s enjoying his time at Notre Dame. The factors that Gilmore would look at when deciding certainly will help the Irish’s chances should they decide to offer.

“Academics and then the intensity during practice and things like that,” Gilmore said. “I like a school with a big fan base, tradition as well and good football.”

Gilmore will lean on his parents to help him, but will make his own decision

“Ultimately, it’s up to me and they’ll back me whatever school I choose to go to,” he said.

And there were certainly be more conversations between himself and Powe.

Just because the Irish aren’t playing at home this weekend doesn’t mean Saturday’s game isn’t a big recruiting weekend for the Irish.  Notre Dame plans to have a large number of recruits watching the Irish play Army on Saturday.

Union Grove (McDonough,Ga.) 2012 running back T.J. Moon has been giving opposing players nightmares all season. The last thing any linebacker or defensive back wanted to see was number 20 coming through the line heading their way. These unfortunate souls would have two choices, get out of the way or get run over.

South Carolina landed the top running back in the nation last year in Marcus Lattimore and he is paying dividends in his first season. This year, the Gamecocks are in the running for No. 1 overall recruit Jadeveon Clowney, a defensive end from Rock Hill, S.C., and recently accepted commitments from three other coveted prospects.

Brandon Shell is a 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman that hails from Goose Creek, S.C. Shell has the footwork and size needed to excel at the left tackle position. There is a wide discrepancy in the evaluation of his skills amongst the various recruiting services. ESPN has him as a three-star prospect, which is low compared to some of the other sites and compared to the quality of his offer list, which included Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Miami, and Tennessee.

The Gamecocks also went across the border to get two Georgia stars: Kadetrix Marcus and Kyle Harris. Marcus is a 6-foot-1, 191-pound safety from Stone Mountain that carries a four-star ESPN ranking and is listed as the nation’s No. 17 safety. Through nine games in 2010, the Stephenson High School product has made 60 tackles and has picked off three passes. He chose South Carolina over Tennessee, Auburn, Stanford, and Clemson.

Harris will line up next to Shell on the offensive line, though at 6-foot-3, 258-pounds he has some weight to add before he is ready to contribute. He plays tackle in high school, but his measurables will force him inside at the college level. The Lindale, Ga. native had committed previously to Georgia Tech and he also considered Tennessee and Ole Miss.

The Tennessee Volunteers need a talent infusion and getting DeAnthony Arnett is a good start. The 6-foot-0, 170-pounder from Saginaw, Mich. is the No. 8 wide receiver and No. 55 overall prospect according to ESPN. He’s not big and is not a burner, but he runs precise routes and catches everything that comes his way, as his junior year statistics of 41 catches for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns attest. The Vols beat out Michigan, Michigan State, USC, and California to get Arnett.

Nebraska received a commitment from ESPN’s No. 3 running back and No. 10 prospect regardless of position, Aaron Green of San Antonio. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Green is a shifty back with good speed. His brother, Andrew, is a redshirt freshman defensive back for the Cornhuskers. Despite the family connections, Aaron gave a long look to Texas and also California and Florida State.

Along with Green, the Huskers added two other quality recruits. Taariq Allen is a relatively unheralded wide receiver from the Rivers School in Weston, Mass. He has good size at 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, but the level of competition that he faces in high school is pretty weak. Despite that, Allen had offers from Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Tulane.

Level of competition is not a question at Collins High School in Klein, Texas where Charles Jackson currently is enrolled. The future Husker cornerback is a strong, physical player despite having a wiry body type. ESPN ranks him as the No. 5 corner prospect in America and he is part of the ESPNU 150. His finalists were Nebraska and Arkansas despite offers from Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M.

USC is enduring their first probationary season and North Carolina awaits word on whether they will have to do the same in 2011. But both programs received key commitments in the recent weeks. The Tar Heels added linebacker Norkeithus Otis, an outside linebacker from Gastonia, N.C. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Otis had 111 tackles and 11 sacks in 2009, which prompted ESPN to rate him as the No. 13 outside linebacker in the class of 2011.

The Trojans actually received two commitments. Steve Dillon is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end that is very athletic, but very raw. The Palmdale, Calif. piled up 74 tackles and nine sacks as a junior. The three-star prospect selected USC over Utah and UCLA.

The other USC commit came from punter Kris Albarado from Lake Charles, La. ESPN has Alabarado as a kicker in their database, but he is slated to be a punter at the next level. His only other FBS offer came from Northwestern.

And the Florida Gators added a running back when Mike Blakely of Bradenton, Fla. gave them his commitment. Blakely is a lot like Aaron Green in that he hits a hole in a hurry and is not big, but is still very strong. He had 525 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns in Manatee High School’s first five games this fall. Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, and USC were some of the teams in the mix to land Blakely.

Of course, Notre Dame fans are well aware that Florida also persuaded linebacker Clay Burton to switch his commitment from the Irish to the Gators.