The 2020 recruiting effort on offense could measure up to the best on paper in the Brian Kelly era, which is embarking on its 11th year after the Dec. 28 Camping World Bowl.
There have been years under him where it has signed higher ranked prospects at most every position but receiver, but not as strong an overall collection as in the 2020 cycle.
The grading system we use is not so much about the individual(s) signed at the position, but about filling the need and with how much star power.
A —College Football Playoff Contention
B — Top-10 Viability
C — Top-25 Viability
D — Trying To Be Bowl Eligible
Quarterback
Signed/Rivals Ranking: Drew Pyne (No. 118 nationally)
Meeting Needs: Every school wants to sign one quarterback in each cycle, and to sign a four-star prospect such as Pyne is a success.
He also will be the first Notre Dame quarterback to enroll early in January for the spring semester since Malik Zaire in 2013.
If Ian Book returns as anticipated for his fifth season in 2020, Notre Dame will have four quarterbacks on scholarship this spring: current sophomore Phil Jurkovec, freshman Brendon Clark (recipient of the 2019 Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year at the Echoes Award show last Friday) and Pyne.
The Irish have not entered a spring with four recruited scholarship quarterbacks since 2013: Everett Golson, Tommy Rees, Andrew Hendrix and Zaire — but Golson then was declared academically ineligible. (I am not including preferred walk-on quarterback Montgomery VanGorder placed on scholarship in 2015.)
It is unusual in today’s world to have that many quality quarterbacks on one roster without one eventually deciding to transfer, especially when 2021 commit Tyler Buchner likely will enroll with more fanfare than any of them.
Summary: Notre Dame has had solid to quality quarterback play in the Kelly era, but not game-changing level where one declares, “He can be a Heisman finalist and first-round pick,” the way the consistent College Football Playoff teams — Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma (and LSU in 2019) — have.
That has been considered part of "the gap" that puts the Irish more into the tier 2 level of top 8-15 nationally.
On Paper Grade: B
The 6-0, 181-pound Pyne would fall in a category similar to his predecessors.
