Win some. Lose some. Such as recruiting goes.
Hours after Notre Dame lost the commitment of a speedy receiver Wednesday afternoon, the Irish gained the verbal pledge of consensus four-star tight end George Takacs (Gulf Coast High School; Naples, Fla.).
The subtraction of consensus four-star receiver Braden Lenzy (Tigard H.S.; Portland, Ore.) and subsequent — though, it should be specifically noted, unrelated — addition of Takacs keeps the Notre Dame class of 2018 at 12 commitments currently, with Takacs the first tight end.
🍀Commited🍀 pic.twitter.com/VvY3ofDOjo
— George Takacs (@georgetakacs9) June 15, 2017
The No. 10 tight end in his class, per rivals.com — the No. 48 prospect in Florida and the No. 234 in the country — Takacs will join a depth chart in flux at tight end. Current fifth-year senior Durham Smythe will be gone come 2018. That much is certain. Senior Nic Weishar will have another year of eligibility after 2017 should the Irish coaches offer him a fifth year, and junior Alizé Mack will have a possible decision to make regarding early entry into the NFL Draft.
Early-enrolled freshman Brock Wright and incoming classmate Cole Kmet, both consensus four-stars themselves, will welcome Takacs, with or without Weishar and Mack.
That tight end depth may have played a part in Takacs’ commitment. Notre Dame’s offense is expected to feature tight ends, often in two tight end sets, under the direction of offensive coordinator Chip Long. Those theories obviously necessitate both quality and quantity at the position in order to become realities.
“Coach Long is a big tight end guy, so talking to him about the offense has been fun,” Takacs told Blue & Gold Illustrated. “The fact that he’s the offensive coordinator and the tight ends coach really excites me.”
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Takacs chose Long and the Irish over the likes of Wisconsin, Florida and Georgia.
LENZY TO OREGON
In switching his commitment to his homestate Ducks, Lenzy left the Notre Dame class of 2018 with only one receiver currently, rivals.com four-star Micah Jones (Warren Township H.S.; Gurnee, Ill.).
Taking Lenzy’s track intentions at face value, and he has certainly shown the speed for a possible future in the pursuit, Oregon makes sense as a landing spot. Eugene, Ore., is known as TrackTown, U.S.A., for a reason.
In many respects, Wednesday may be the epitome of the recruiting aspects Irish coach Brian Kelly referenced on National Signing Day (Feb. 1) when discussing the pros and cons of an early signing day this December.
“Our mindset is we’re going into it business as usual,” Kelly said. “We’re all going to have to fight until February.”
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