Brandon Tiassum Commits to Notre Dame
Notre Dame hosted Indianapolis native Brandon Tiassum on Sunday just a little over a week after they offered the defensive in-state defensive tackle prospect. That visit was all that it took for Tiassum to decide that Notre Dame was the place he would like to spend his college career. Tiassum committed on the spot to push Notre Dame’s commitment total back to 9 after the decommitment of Blake Barnett last week.
Thank you all the school that recruited me and have given me a chance to play for them but now I am officially committing to Notre Dame #
— Brandon Tiassum (@tiassum) June 8, 2014
Tiassum is rated by 247 Sports as a 4-star prospect as the #21 DT in the country and the #4 recruit in the state of Indiana. Rivals ranks Tiassum similarly as the #24 DT overall and #4 ranked prospect in Indiana although Rivals has Tiassum as a 3-star recruit.
Notre Dame only recently offered Tiassum right at the end of May. It didn’t take long for him to make the short trip to South Bend to take in the campus and meet with coaches and decide that he was ready to end his recruitment. Before selecting Notre Dame as his college choice, Tiassum picked up offers from Miami, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Boston College.
At 6’5″, 295 lbs Tiassum fits the new profile of interior defensive linemen that Notre Dame has been recruiting since Brian VanVorder was named defensive coordinator last January following the departure of Bob Diaco to UConn similar to Daniel Cage and Peter Mokwuah.
Notre Dame now has four commitments out of nine total on the defensive side of the ball with Tiassum being the first defensive linemen to join the class. The Irish are not done recruiting along the defensive line by any means though. Notre Dame will be looking to continue to add talent and depth in the trenches with more four man defensive fronts being incorporated in Brian VanGorder’s defense.
With their latest picked, Notre Dame is really staking its claim in Indiana already this year with Tiassum the #4 ranked prospect in the state after already locking up the #1 ranked Hoosier State native Josh Barajas a little over a week ago. Notre Dame is still heavily pursuing another highly rated Indiana linebacker – Asmar Bilal. Like Tiassum, Bilal is an Indianapolis native.
There had been some speculation that Notre Dame was in line to get a commitment this weekend, but that was before Tiassum ever stepped on campus which could mean that more good news could be coming for Notre Dame in the near future.
Brandon Tiassum Highlights
Brandon Tiassum highlights: 2014 Ohio Rivals Camp from Peegs.com on Vimeo.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Tiassum is another brick in the defensive wall.
He and Barajas are the just the first of many to populate the depth chart along with the massive haul of the 2014 recruiting class, bolstered
by the shift of Drew Tranquill to linebacker.
Tiassum’s shift to Park Tudor from Ben Davis shows he accepts the primacy of education. A probable 2015 redshirt, he keeps the depth chart filled.
And, really, other than Gunner, who is the last Indiana kid that Notre Dame misjudged, especially now that Turner has found himself at linebacker?
Word is that Brandon Tiassum is pretty awesome.
That’s the word of my brother, who lives in Indy. Coming from a (sc)UM B-school grad, that is really good praise!
Ah I see what you did there with UM. Very clever.
Thanks, Ron. Wish I could take credit, but if I did my priest would have a confessor. (me!) I read that reference years ago on some board. And some things are too kool to forget!
AND GO IRISH!!!