Nyshier Oliver Wants To Catch The Ball

Nyshier Oliver is Irish. The 5′ 10″ 170 lbs. WR from St. Peters Prep in New Jersey gave Notre Dame his verbal commitment sometime last night. The 4 star prospect was a early commit to Tennessee, but he reopened his commitment and after a few more visits he was all Irish.

The following is from St. Peter’s website, commenting on Oliver’s commitment:

“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 Weis 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.”

Oliver is the 15th commitment for the incoming class of 2009. He is listed as a top safety prospect, but Notre Dame wants him as a receiver in the mold of Golden Tate.

ESPN Scouting Report:

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. Sometimes can bust a run up the middle and go completely unscaved and
often times maintains his balance when hit by would-be tacklers. Hits and spins
for extras yardage showing great balance and body control. Can catch the
football out of the backfield and turn a short reception into a homerun. Very
light on his feet; his quick moves and agile feet often leave defenders flat on
their face after they miss. Equally as talented as a return specialist. Shows a
real burst in the openfield and makes his cuts going full speed. Reads his
blocks well as a returner. Williams has great hips and can change direction in
an instance. The colleges like him as a safety but I think it’s going to be
impossible to keep this talent from handling the football.

I’ll have more on this commitment as well as a recruiting refresher in a few days. Until then…