Jaylen Kelly-Powell Plans To Return To Notre Dame, Again

Detroit Cass Tech three-star safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell wasn't initially planning to stop at Notre Dame two weeks ago on his way down to Arkansas for an unofficial visit, but after Irish defensive line coach Keith Gilmore kept asking Kelly-Powell and his father to swing by campus, the two finally decided to make a pit stop in South Bend for the Irish Invasion

It was a visit that turned out to be more than just productive for Gilmore and the rest of the Irish coaches, even if Kelly-Powell didn't workout at the camp and was on hand for just a few hours.

"I'm going to be back there for the Michigan State game," Kelly-Powell said. "I had a chance to talk with [Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly] when I was there and he just said that they really want me and that I'm welcome on campus anytime. We're just building that relationship"

Kelly-Powell, who also holds offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, UCLA, Wisconsin and others, has long been a target for the Irish in the secondary. He first visited campus for the Texas game last September and then returned for a Junior Day in January. He has since visited three more times and says that he has grown more and more comfortable with Gilmore and defensive backs coach Todd Lyght with each visit.

"A lot of coaches now a days that just haven't played a position, they just teach it. [Coach Lyght] actually has been through it actually went to Notre Dame and was a two-time All-American and then went to the league and came back to coach. So of course he has knowledge of what it takes," Kelly-Powell said when asked about his relationship with Lyght.

While Kelly-Powell continue to get his name linked to Michigan as a leader, he says that his recruitment remains open and that Notre Dame is very much in the mix.

"My dad likes Notre Dame a lot. He likes the academics and then the football. I like that too," Kelly-Powell said.

The 4.0 student has already earned an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game.