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Notre Dame recruiting notes: Top three for key OL target, decision coming soon for Braylon James

Singer headshotby:Mike Singer•04/06/22•

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Four-star wide receiver Braylon James (Billy Embody/On3)

Alabama, Notre Dame and Ohio State are the top three schools for Cincinnati Lakota East class of 2023 offensive lineman Austin Siereveld. The 6-5, 315-pounder announced the news on Wednesday night.

Siereveld has recently taken visits to all three schools. He was at Ohio State March 22, Alabama March 25 and Notre Dame April 2. He’s been to Alabama twice, Notre Dame three times and Ohio State four times in total.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) heavily favors Ohio State, largely in part due to a couple insider picks logged in favor of the Buckeyes. Ryan Day‘s squad sits at 98.1 percent per the On3 RPM.

Siereveld is expected to visit Notre Dame and Ohio State again this month. While OSU is considered the favorite, the Irish may be able to pull off the upset.

He ranks as the nation’s No. 264 overall prospect and No. 16 interior offensive lineman per the 2023 On3 Consensus. On3’s own rankings have the highest view of him among the four major recruiting media outlets, listing him as the No. 137 recruit and No. 11 interior offensive lineman in America.

“I like the [Notre Dame] staff,” Siereveld recently told On3’s Jeremy Johnson. “Coach (Marcus) Freeman is great, I’ve had great talks with him. Coach (Harry) Hiestand and I have had Zoom calls discussing the fundamentals that I can work on.”

Siereveld has always had respect for Notre Dame’s history.

“I like their history, they have a really good history,” Siereveld said. “The golden helmets look cool. The fan base is really into it. When I went for a game, I was blown away by the atmosphere of the fans.”

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Notre Dame target Braylon James: “Commitment coming soon.”

That was the tweet that the four-star wide receiver put out on Wednesday evening.

Prep Football Report‘s Tom Lemming tweeted a video soon afterwards where Braylon James listed some of the schools that he’s still considering.

“Right now, the schools I’m interested in are Texas, LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, Stanford, Miami, USC and Oregon,” he said. “Those are just a few. I’m super blessed to be in this position.”

James is the No. 109 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Notre Dame is the favorite for the James, according to the On3 RPM. The Fighting Irish have a 91.2% chance of landing the four-star wide receiver. There are two insider predictions logged in favor of Notre Dame.

James raved about his time at Notre Dame in an interview with BlueandGold.com following his March visit.

“Man, I want to put one word on it, but I really can’t,” James said. “It was an indescribable experience. Being up there and being around the whole staff, they really made me feel wanted. Talking to Coach [Marcus] Freeman in person, everything he had said before on the phone was reciprocated. He had great energy, and I finally got to see Coach [Chansi] Stuckey again. That blue and gold – it was just a crazy experience.

“I finally got to sit down with Coach [Tommy] Rees and talk about the offense. I got a good grasp of why they’re recruiting me so hard. If you look at Coach Rees’ pro-style offense and look at a receiver like me, it goes hand in hand. I fit perfectly in his scheme. It really speaks for itself.

“Looking at the campus and the academic part of the university, it speaks for itself as well. It was truly a blessing to get there. It was exciting.”

James transferred from Del Valle (Texas) High to Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point this spring.

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