Deontay Greenberry Spurns Notre Dame for Houston in Huge Loss for Irish

Deontay Greenberry had been committed to Notre Dame since May of last year. Greenberry is a rangy wide receiver and a great deep threat that looked to fill a void in the Irish passing game. With the stunning switch of Gunner Kiel to the Irish, Greenberry looked to fit nicely in as a star receiver to complete the package.

However, Greenberry stunned the country when he signed with Houston today and shunned the Irish in the final minutes. He visited Houston just five days before signing day and that was all he needed to ensure the change of heart.

Greenberry was a Parade All-American this past season and is ranked as the No. 7 receiver in the country by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Greenberry has the ability to be a big threat in the red zone and would have been an instant impact type player for the Irish.

With Notre Dame not expecting the switch, the Irish were not looking for secondary options for his position. There were only two other receivers in the current Notre Dame class and both have signed with the Irish. Chris Brown and Justin Ferguson are the lone receiver signees and neither are expected to make the instant impact that Greenberry would have.

Adding to the intrigue behind the switch, Greenberry’s cousin—close friend and teammate Tee Shepard—was an early enrollee for the Irish and all signs pointed to the receiver joining him in South Bend.

What led to the switch is unclear, but the new staff at Houston under the leadership of head coach Tony Levine has done a great job at picking up where Kevin Sumlin left off. He has used the Cougars' recent success to build the 2012 signing class in short order.

Losing Greenberry to the Cougars is a huge loss for the Irish, not only because of the talent that has been lost, but also because of what it does to the image of this year’s class. It is never a positive to lose a high profile recruit on the day of signing.

The Irish could have a shot at Davonte Neal and Nelson Algohor, but those chances look very slim. Notre Dame may just have to take this loss and roll with it. 

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