Notre Dame has two landed major class of 2023 commits in as many days, with Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep’s Keon Keeley and Mentor (Ohio) High’s Brenan Vernon pledging to the Irish. The defensive end prospects are the first two commitments in the cycle for Notre Dame.
Here is a breakdown of what the addition of Vernon means for the Irish.
1. Typically, I start this commitment analysis piece off by giving my thoughts on a prospect’s film, but this recruiting win needs to be addressed first. The word to describe it? Stunner. If you would’ve told me in May that Vernon would commit to Notre Dame June 29, my jaw would have hit the floor. This is a huge upset for the Fighting Irish over Ohio State. The Buckeyes have had the pitch of Vernon being the next in line of great Ohio State defensive ends, such as Nick and Joey Bosa and Chase Young. Vernon was considered an Ohio State lock ever since the Buckeyes offered him back in August 2020. How did the Irish pull off the upset? I have two answers.
