Notre Dame football placed on probation for one year over recruiting violations
The NCAA placed Notre Dame's football program on probation for one year on Thursday, after the sides agreed that a former assistant coach had impermissible off-campus recruiting contact with a high school player in January 2019.
Sources told ESPN on Thursday that those involved were former cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght and linebacker Sav'ell Smalls of Garfield High School in Seattle. Lyght, an All-America cornerback at Notre Dame in 1989, was fired in January 2020.
Smalls, the No. 15 prospect in the 2020 ESPN 300, signed with Washington. He was involved in similar infractions cases involving Florida's Dan Mullen and Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher, which led to the head coaches receiving show causes last year for improper recruiting contact. The Gators and Aggies were also placed on probation for one year and were no longer permitted to continue recruiting Smalls.
The NCAA found that Kelly also had impermissible off-campus contact with a prospect in October 2019 when the player recognized the Irish head coach walking through a high school cafeteria in Pickerington, Ohio, and asked him to take a photo. The NCAA said Kelly initially declined before ultimately allowing the photo.
In addition to the probation, the Fighting Irish were fined $5,000 and face other recruiting restrictions, including one less official visit, 14 fewer days for unofficial visits and a seven-day off-campus recruiting ban for the entire coaching staff this spring.
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