With cornerback a pressing need in this year’s recruiting class, the Irish received good news this morning with the commitment of Washington D.C. cornerback Devin Butler. Butler, a six-foot-one, 180-pound national target had offers from Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Wisconsin and over a dozen others before being committing to Notre Dame.
“There was just no waiting,” Butler told Rivals’ Mike Farrell. “There was no point. I knew I felt that comfort level I wanted. Growing up in Catholic schools, Notre Dame feels a lot like home to me and reminds me of my school. You know that feeling when you get it and that’s what happened to me.”
Butler joins New Jersey’s Rashad Kinlaw as potential cornerbacks in this recruiting class. Both have excellent height and length, as the Irish try and recruit bigger, physical cornerbacks for Bob Diaco’s system. He was recruited by tight ends coach Scott Booker, who has done some nice early work for the Irish on 2013 targets.
Butler wasn’t expected to announce his decision until mid-May, but after a whirlwind tour of campus that included Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Notre Dame, Butler cut his decision date over a month short, with the cornerback rumored to have committed to Irish coaches on the spot. Butler’s official commitment wrapped up a spring that saw the scholarship offers continue to pile up for one of Washington D.C.'s finest athletes.
“I knew he was very good, but I didn’t realize [it would be like this], even Alabama called,” high school coach Aaron Brady told the Washington Post. “There are not a lot of corners in this class and he’s 6-1 and can run. There are not a lot of 6-1 corners out there. Most guys who are 6-1 and they can catch, they want to play offense.”
The commitment takes the Irish recruiting class to 10 members. They’ll look to double that number by Signing Day next February, with the potential to take one or two past that number depending on scholarship numbers.
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