The NCAA this week placed the Notre Dame football program on probation for a full year as a result of a recruiting violation.
The two sides agreed to the probation in response to an impermissible off-campus visit that coach Todd Lyght made to see linebacker Sav’ell Smalls at Garfield High School in Seattle.
According to ESPN, the NCAA concluded that Notre Dame head coach Brian 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 probation, Notre Dame was fined $5,000 and the school will lose one official recruiting visit.
Schools aren't currently allowed to have coaches recruit off-campus or host high school prospects for official visits through April 15 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
