'17 CAN DE Luiji Vilain (Michigan Verbal)

[ResLife Hero]

Weak-Side Defensive End
Ontario, CA (Lester B. Pearson)

Measurements

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230

Rankings

Rivals: 5.9 Rating, #3 VA, #5 WDE, #89 Overall
247: 94 Rating, #2 VA, #7 WDE, #91 Overall
Scout: #17 DE, #180 Overall
ESPN: 81 Rating, #5 VA, #15 DE, #195 Overall

247 Composite: 94.47 Rating, #4 VA, #7 WDE, #125 Overall


Offers
Alabama
Boston College
Florida
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Mississippi
Nebraska
North Carolina
Ohio State
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
South Florida
Syracuse
Tennessee
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Wisconsin


Highlights:
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[ResLife Hero]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>DE Luiji Vilain a soon-to-be Canadian import and a prospect to watch down the line for Notre Dame. <a href="http://t.co/GdKHS6uGUY">http://t.co/GdKHS6uGUY</a></p>— Andrew Ivins (@BGI_aivins) <a href="https://twitter.com/BGI_aivins/status/568425165366763521">February 19, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Lawrence, Ind. - Last year, four-star defensive tackle Neville Gallimore made headlines when he became the first Canadian-born football player to ever earn an invite to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Luiji Vilain hopes he came become the second.

Vilain - a 6-foot-4, 240-pound defensive end out of Lester B. Pearson High in Ontario, Canada. - already holds scholarship offers from Penn State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Syracuse and South Florida. But it's the next wave of schools - the ones that have yet to offer - that have grabbed the attention of the class of 2017 prospect.

Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Maryland have all expressed interest in Vilian, and according to him, he's interested in all of them.

"I'm trying to keep my options open right now," Vilain said Monday at the Best of the Midwest Combine. "All of the schools that have reached out are in consideration, but my coach is the one that has been in contact with Notre Dame.

"He said the coaches think I'm a talented player and they like what they have seen so far."

Whether the initial inquiries from the Irish lead to a scholarship offer remains to be seen, but it's clear for now, that Vilain is already perked by Notre Dame.

The sophomore explained that he knows about the rich history of the school.

"I know Notre Dame has a really good football team and great tradition all around," Vilain said. "I also know that they have a good defense."

Vilain was named a top underclassmen performer by Rivals.com at the Best of the Midwest Combine on Monday. He is planning to eventually transfer to the United States to play football, and has been linked to Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal High, which is where his good friend Patrice Rene attends school.

As for the comparisons that he has already drawn to Gallimore - who signed with Oklahoma last month - Vilain said that he's just trying to create his own legacy, for now.

That means doing whatever it takes to position himself to earn a U.S. Army All-American Bowl invite or one from another major all-star game.

"I'm just trying to prove myself," Vilain said. "Yeah the football up in Canada might not be the best, but I want to just show that I can play with the best. I'm trying to set my own path."

 

[GoldenDomer]

 

[connor_in]

Does Canadian count towards the foreign language requirement?

 

[Bubbles]

only if you get an 'eh'.

 

[PANDFAN]

"I talked with him [Gilmore] for about 20 minutes," Vilain said. "The main thing we talked about was academics. He stressed that, and I feel like I fit what he's looking for. It was a good conversation.

"I heard they [Notre Dame] were on the fence of offering me, but they have to really see my grades and see me workout in person," Vilain said. "Coach Gilmore will be at 'Sound Mind Sound Body' (camp in Detroit) so he'll see me there, and I may attend Irish Invasion too. It all depends because I have exams still in Canada. Hopefully I can get out there.

"We do plan on going to Syracuse, Penn State, and a few other schools up North this summer." - See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1773350#sthash.m8IRwYAW.dpuf

"I came in expecting a lot and I was still blown away. Everything was really nice, I really liked the whole architecture of the campus, and I'm Catholic so it really means a lot to me to see all of that. I'm really interested in them."


"That [Sutherland] my brother man," Vilain said. "I've known him since I was 10 years old. I'm actually heading to Episcopal next year, we'll get to play together and hopefully play at the same school at the next level."
- See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1773350#sthash.m8IRwYAW.dpuf

 

[PANDFAN]

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Notre Dame hosted a pair of junior Canadian four-star prospects last weekend in defensive end Luiji Vilain and junior defensive back Jonathan Sutherland.
“I came in expecting a lot, and I was still blown away,” Vilain said. “The entire staff welcomed us, and I got to meet coach (Keith) Gilmore, and they showed us around campus. Overall, it was just a great experience and really opened my eyes.”
Vilain, who will attend Episcopal in Alexandria, Va., for his junior year, already holds offers from Minnesota, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse and South Florida.
“I think they are on the fence about offering,” Vilain said. “They want me to come back for Irish Invasion, so hopefully I can make that. I sat down and talked with (Gilmore) for about 20 minutes during my visit. He told me to stay physical and to keep working. Academics were the main thing he stressed.”
On Sunday, Irish assistant Mike Elston evaluated the 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end prospect at the AWP Sports R.A.S. Showcase.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about Notre Dame,” Vilain said. “Obviously it’s a great football program with great tradition. An offer would mean a lot. It would definitely be a changing factor for me. They would definitely be at the top when I decide.”
Vilain plans to take his recruitment into the fall in order to take official visits before deciding on a school. He’s already visited Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and Syracuse.
“I don’t plan on having favorites for a while,” Vilain said. “I plan on taking visits to a lot of schools first.”
Following a strong showing against solid competition, Vilain was named as one of the top five defensive line performers on Sunday. Michigan State commitment and former Notre Dame recruiting target Auston Robertson was named MVP at the position.
“Speed is my main thing,” Vilain said. “I’m really fast off the line. Last year my hands weren’t so good, but this offseason I spent most of it working on my hands, and I just combined the two, and I’ve gotten a lot better.”
scout

 

[ResLife Hero]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Class of 2017 4-star DE Luiji Vilain on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotreDame?src=hash">#NotreDame</a> visit: “I was blown away.” <a href="http://t.co/HATSrX5HFg">http://t.co/HATSrX5HFg</a> <a href="http://t.co/hY26gifEfN">pic.twitter.com/hY26gifEfN</a></p>— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomLoy247/status/608607322756141056">June 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[woolybug25]

Is there a transcript question or eligibility issue or something? Why has this kid not been offered yet?

 

[PANDFAN]

Is there a transcript question or eligibility issue or something? Why has this kid not been offered yet?

want to see workout in person...elston saw him but im guessing bvg or gilmore

 

[Irish#1]

Is there a transcript question or eligibility issue or something? Why has this kid not been offered yet?

Probably how grades in metric convert to US standards.

 

[woolybug25]

want to see workout in person...elston saw him but im guessing bvg or gilmore

Seems like this would be a situation where we should consider an early offer. His tape, measurables and early recruiting analysts opinion (not that matters at all to coaches, but ya know...) seem to point to this kid being an elite talent. 247 already has him as the #2 DE and a composite #4 in '17. Worst case scenario, there is a great chance that he will be as good or much better than any DE we get in that class. Why not get in early?

Offers are flying in for this kid (Minn, Miss St and possibly scUM this weekend) and we seemingly could become an early leader with an offer. We wait... and he falls in love with another school. Maybe Michigan, where he will be this weekend and who saw him in Ft Wayne last week.

 

[Luckylucci]

Seems like this would be a situation where we should consider an early offer. His tape, measurables and early recruiting analysts opinion (not that matters at all to coaches, but ya know...) seem to point to this kid being an elite talent. 247 already has him as the #2 DE and a composite #4 in '17. Worst case scenario, there is a great chance that he will be as good or much better than any DE we get in that class. Why not get in early?

Offers are flying in for this kid (Minn, Miss St and possibly scUM this weekend) and we seemingly could become an early leader with an offer. We wait... and he falls in love with another school. Maybe Michigan, where he will be this weekend and who saw him in Ft Wayne last week.

Agreed, makes little sense. Especially considering the kid isn't looking to commit right now. Hopefully he makes it back for II with Sutherland and they offer both.

 

[BeauBenken]

Agreed, makes little sense. Especially considering the kid isn't looking to commit right now. Hopefully he makes it back for II with Sutherland and they offer both.

If he isn't looking to commit now, then why not offer the two of them at II and make a big splash?

 

[Luckylucci]

If he isn't looking to commit now, then why not offer the two of them at II and make a big splash?

My thought process is this. The risk you run of offering a kid prior to being completely sold on him is that he commits and takes a spot that you might not want him to.

Also, I don't view offering at II as a bigger splash than sitting the two down together in Kelly's office when they are on a visit just the two of them and offering then.

There will be so much going on at II that I don't want Kelly focusing on offering 2017 kids in his office. Priority then should be 2016 class and the 2017 kids getting a feel for ND. Personal interactions should be for 2016, especially considering where we are currently at.

Lastly, he may not be able to make II. He's said to some that he will and to others that he's not sure.

 

[Irish YJ]

My thought process is this. The risk you run of offering a kid prior to being completely sold on him is that he commits and takes a spot that you might not want him to.

Also, I don't view offering at II as a bigger splash than sitting the two down together in Kelly's office when they are on a visit just the two of them and offering then.

There will be so much going on at II that I don't want Kelly focusing on offering 2017 kids in his office. Priority then should be 2016 class and the 2017 kids getting a feel for ND. Personal interactions should be for 2016, especially considering where we are currently at.

Lastly, he may not be able to make II. He's said to some that he will and to others that he's not sure.

Agree for the most part, but I would hope that BK picks out a few 2017 kids who look to have elite potential, and show them some personal love and attention. I like that we seem to be getting out in front of 2017 more than we did last year for 2016.

 

[Luckylucci]

Agree for the most part, but I would hope that BK picks out a few 2017 kids who look to have elite potential, and show them some personal love and attention. I like that we seem to be getting out in front of 2017 more than we did last year for 2016.

Of course, for the sake of rambling I didn't want to get to long winded with the post. Hunter Johnson is a good example.

The only thing I can come up with is by not offering maybe thats what gets them to come back for another visit, to earn offers. If that was the strategy the entire time, it makes a little more sense but seems to be playing with fire a bit.

 

[dad4aa]

want to see workout in person...elston saw him but im guessing bvg or gilmore

Is this the norm for recruiting? We send all of our coaches out to evaluate and recruit kids but they can't offer until they get approval from BVG or someone? I know your just throwing this out a possibility of why we didn't offer but I have seen that reason many times. I would like to think our Head recruiter would know what the coaches are looking for and can make an offer when they find someone that fulfills the requirement. It does seem like we get in with a lot of kids early but make the offer late...and may times too late. Am I missing something?

 

[PANDFAN]

Is this the norm for recruiting? We send all of our coaches out to evaluate and recruit kids but they can't offer until they get approval from BVG or someone? I know your just throwing this out a possibility of why we didn't offer but I have seen that reason many times. I would like to think our Head recruiter would know what the coaches are looking for and can make an offer when they find someone that fulfills the requirement. It does seem like we get in with a lot of kids early but make the offer late...and may times too late. Am I missing something?

this has been the BIG ISSUE this recruiting cycle...BVG doesn't have a relationship w/ lyght/elston/denbrock/sanford/denson etc....so as Coach D pointed out he can't take their assessments immediately because they don't have that relationship in which they know BVG would like....so they go an make connections and then the offer is coming down from BVG/Kelly....this has been part of the delay

 

[Irish#1]

My thought process is this. The risk you run of offering a kid prior to being completely sold on him is that he commits and takes a spot that you might not want him to.

Also, I don't view offering at II as a bigger splash than sitting the two down together in Kelly's office when they are on a visit just the two of them and offering then.

There will be so much going on at II that I don't want Kelly focusing on offering 2017 kids in his office. Priority then should be 2016 class and the 2017 kids getting a feel for ND. Personal interactions should be for 2016, especially considering where we are currently at.

Lastly, he may not be able to make II. He's said to some that he will and to others that he's not sure.

Kelly report to you now? Jack know about this? lol

 

[dad4aa]

this has been the BIG ISSUE this recruiting cycle...BVG doesn't have a relationship w/ lyght/elston/denbrock/sanford/denson etc....so as Coach D pointed out he can't take their assessments immediately because they don't have that relationship in which they know BVG would like....so they go an make connections and then the offer is coming down from BVG/Kelly....this has been part of the delay

Thanks Panda. If I understand correctly then, if the time comes where the relationships are built and everyone is on the same page, the offers should come out quicker and not have to wait for BVG's or BK's approval? This is just a result of putting together a new coaching staff?

 

[PANDFAN]

Thanks Panda. If I understand correctly then, if the time comes where the relationships are built and everyone is on the same page, the offers should come out quicker and not have to wait for BVG's or BK's approval? This is just a result of putting together a new coaching staff?

correct!

 

[PANDFAN]

isn't locked into the Irish Invasion yet, but he says there's a chance he could make the trip

 

[PANDFAN]

will attend the Ohio State's Friday Night Lights Camp in late July and is looking to make return visits to both Michigan State and Notre Dame before the summer is out. - See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1774292#sthash.StVlUWWt.dpuf

 

[PANDFAN]

• Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal Top100 2017 defensive end Luiji Vilain continued to make a name for himself at last year’s Sound Mind Sound Body, and now he’s one of the main attractions. Rutgers and Penn State have made an early impression.

 

[Irish#1]

Don't have a good feeling that this one will pan out.

 

[PANDFAN]

"Hopefully it's close to happening," Vilain said. "I think they want to see me play one of my seasons down here first, since I'm just coming from Canada."
- See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1797413#sthash.7p9hpy5Q.dpuf
"I talked with him [Gilmore] for about 20 minutes," Vilain said. "The main thing we talked about was academics. He stressed that, and I feel like I fit what he's looking for. It was a good conversation; he's a great coach. I like where he's taking the d-line, and what his plans are there. - See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1797413#sthash.7p9hpy5Q.dpuf
"I came in expecting a lot and I was still blown away. Everything was really nice. I really liked the whole architecture of the campus, and I'm Catholic so it really means a lot to me to see all of that. I'm really interested in them." - See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1797413#sthash.7p9hpy5Q.dpuf
"They have great academics — really, really great academics — and then the football team is looking good, they're a strong program," Vilain said. "It's great tradition there as well as a great coaching staff. My interest in them is definitely very high." - See more at: https://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1797413#sthash.7p9hpy5Q.dpuf

ALSO notes he is catholic

 

[BobbyMac]

Saw this and realized I hadn't heard anything about him a long time. Did he get hung up in customs? Anything new to report?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Florida?src=hash">#Florida</a> the latest to offer Top100 DE Luiji Vilain <a href="https://t.co/HSS6GXoDrJ">https://t.co/HSS6GXoDrJ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeStampini">@LukeStampini</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/luiji_v">@luiji_v</a></p>— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomLoy247/status/700131187977822208">February 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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[rtrn2glory]

would like for Canada to be good to us again this cycle.

 

[Irish#1]

Saw this and realized I hadn't heard anything about him a long time. Did he get hung up in customs? Anything new to report?

Heard he got caught trying to smuggle in a case of Canadian Club. Oh wait, that was Al Capone.