Nyshier Oliver Makes it 15

Notre Dame picked up commitment #15 on Wednesday in the form of wide receiver/defensive back Nyshier Oliver – another of New Jersey’s top recruits.   Oliver was recruited as a defensive back by a lot of schools, but Notre Dame recruited the speedy New Jersey native as a wide receiver.  Both Rivals and Scout list him as just a 3 star recruit but with offers from the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, and Penn State I think its safe to say Oliver is a pretty elite prospect.

Here’s a statement released on Oliver’s high school’s website.

“As you may recall, Nyshier Oliver chose to reconsider his initial college scholarship commitment to the University of Tennessee. Since then he has taken several ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ visits to other scholarship option schools. It is a pleasure for me to announce that last night I spoke with Head Coach and New Jersey native Charlie Weiss and committed Nyshier to the University of Notre Dame. I want to thank all who have supported Nyshier throughout his academic and athletic career at Prep. It is a great choice and proper fit for him. I now look forward to Nyshier finishing out his time at Prep in great fashion, performing on the field and in the classroom, fulfilling all of our expectations.”

Here is an excerpt from ESPN’s evaluation of Oliver.  Read through this and tell me who it reminds you of.

Oliver should be nicknamed Houdini being he can slip through the smallest of places without being touched by the opposition. Even though he’s not the biggest skilled athlete in the country, few have the talents of this remarkable football player. Even though the colleges tend to be recruiting him as a safety, he is an unbelievable running back. He is equally as effective running inside or outside. He can cut the isolation play back against the grain for big yards or bounce it all the way out to the perimeter then use his blazing speed to take it down the sideline.

Hmmmm.  A speedy high school running back with a knack for making big plays recruited as a wide receiver by Notre Dame….

Note: ESPN rated Golden Tate as a top 5 wide receiver coming out of high school while neither Scout nor Rivals had him anywhere near that high.  Let’s hope they are right again.

Welcome to Notre Dame Nyshier.