In the college football landscape, Notre Dame has had one of the best-kept lawns the past four seasons with a 43-8 record, two College Football Playoff appearances, and not finishing lower than 12th in the Associated Press poll.
The problem is the grass remains greener at the “Big Three” comprised of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State — especially when it comes to the edge work.
The “edge” refers to game-breaking wide receivers on offense and those most able to hold them in check defensively, the cover corners. That’s where there is particularly huge separation between the Irish and Big Three (as we shall see later in this feature).
Along with finding and developing a transcendent quarterback, those are the two positions 12th-year head coach Brian Kelly has hinted at the past several years that have most prevented the Fighting Irish from bridging the chasm that exists between the Big Three and the rest of college football. Notre Dame has been attempting to rectify that in the past two recruiting cycles.
Last year, the staff signed its first five-star receiver (Jordan Johnson) in 12 years (Michael Floyd in 2008). Joining him were three-star prospects Jay Brunelle and Xavier Watts. Unlike Floyd, though, who caught a school-record 48 passes as a freshman, Johnson had only 26 snaps.
This year, next to the offensive line, the single strongest position group recruited by the Fighting Irish staff was wide receiver.
On paper, the trio of Lorenzo Styles Jr. (No. 51 overall recruit nationally per Rivals), Deion Colzie (No. 144) and Jayden Thomas (four-star) is the highest ranked since 2016. That year, the Irish inked the trio of Javon McKinley (No. 59), Chase Claypool (No. 109) and Kevin Stepherson (three-star) — who actually ended up with the best freshman season by a Kelly receiver among anyone in his 11 seasons at Notre Dame before getting dismissed from school as a sophomore.
Claypool developed into a second-round pick who excelled this past season as an NFL rookie, while McKinley became a late-bloomer in his fifth season (2020) that will give him at least a chance to get drafted.
Meanwhile at cornerback, Notre Dame signed a quartet in Ryan Barnes, JoJo Johnson, Philip Riley and Chance Tucker. Per our research, this is the first time since 1990 the Irish signed four projected corners in one recruiting haul. The harvest from 31 years ago included Tom Carter, Willie Clark, Greg Lane and Marvin Robinson.
Restocking Receiver
Not having enough at receiver and cornerback showed up again in 2020 when graduate transfers Ben Skowronek (Northwestern) and Nick McCloud (North Carolina State) had to take on starting roles at receiver and boundary cornerback, respectively, as stop-gap, one-year solutions to fill the voids there.
Neither was necessarily a top pro prospect, but both were highly valuable additions at positions of need.
Notre Dame did sign a five-man receiver group in 2018, led by top-100 selection Kevin Austin Jr. and fellow four-star prospects Micah Jones and Braden Lenzy. Unfortunately, through three years there have been setbacks galore.
Austin has five career catches because of a 2019 suspension and foot surgery 2020. Lenzy, a speedster who has had numerous health setbacks, could not quite shake a hamstring issue last year and ended up with only seven catches. Jones has yet to catch a pass, although he did graduate in three years.
The other two in the class, Joe Wilkins Jr. and Lawrence Keys III, finished with seven and five receptions, respectively.
Maybe they will be late-bloomers like McKinley in 2020. If not, the opportunities for Styles, Colzie and Thomas to see action are realistic, especially with Styles an early enrollee this February.
Still, the history under Kelly shows that freshman wide receivers generally will have to bide their time. The two exceptions were TJ Jones in his first season (2010) and Stepherson during the 4-8 debacle in 2016.
Jones snared 23 passes for 306 yards and three scores in that debut campaign, while Stepherson had 25 catches for 462 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. Otherwise:
• Four-star DaVaris Daniels (2011) and future third-round pick Miles Boykin (2015) redshirted as freshmen. So did all three freshman receiver recruits this past season, most notably Johnson.
• Four-star DaVonté Neal (2012) — the nation’s No. 8 overall prospect per ESPN — caught one pass as a freshman for minus-five yards before transferring to Arizona, where he was switched to defense.
• In 2013, the Irish signed four-star figures Will Fuller and Corey Robinson. Fuller caught six passes as a freshman and Robinson nine.
• In 2015, freshman four-star Equanimeous St. Brown snared one pass while Boykin redshirted.
• In 2016, future second-round selection Claypool played sparingly while snaring five passes.
• In 2018, top-100 recruit Austin caught four passes as a rookie prior to his setbacks in 2019 and 2020.
Impact at wideout — be it from the veterans or youth — will be mandatory for Notre Dame to vie for another CFP bid.
Corner Concerns
For the second year in a row, cornerback probably will be ranked the top position of concern both from an experience and star-rating standpoint.
All three Notre Dame cornerbacks signed last year — Ramon Henderson, Clarence Lewis and Caleb Offord — were classified as three-star, developmental prospects, which is why Lewis emerging as a starter was one of the top surprises of 2020.
However, that also spoke to the problems at corner, which is why McCloud had to be brought in as a graduate transfer, while 2019 starter TaRiq Bracy, recruited as an “athlete” in 2018, appeared to lose some confidence while Lewis ascended.
This year the four who inked as corners are led by Riley — the first four-star corner signed by Notre Dame since 2016 with Julian Love and Troy Pride Jr., both of whom became fourth-round picks (although Love moved to safety in the NFL).
Out of seven cornerbacks from the last two classes, at least one or two others will need to step to the forefront to complement Lewis in the years to come, specifically when both Clemson and Ohio State are on the 2022-23 regular season slates.
Otherwise, the grass will remain greener among college football’s top tier.
Defining ‘The Gap’
When we speak about “The Gap” Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have from the rest of college football, including Notre Dame, two of the positions that especially manifest this are receiver and cornerback.
Notre Dame has done well for itself at receiver since 2012 with the likes of first-round pick Fuller (2016), third-round selection Boykin (2019) and second-round choice Claypool (2020).
However, consider that this year, Alabama likely will have their sixth and seventh wide receivers since 2011 selected in the first round alone with Heisman Trophy winter DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle — who was considered the top wideout for the Crimson Tide before his injury.
Clemson has had three first-round wideouts in the last decade, a fourth in Tee Higgins who was the first pick in the second round, and would have had another first-rounder this season had Justyn Ross not had spinal fusion surgery. As a freshman, Ross scorched Notre Dame in the CFP with six catches for 148 yards and two scores.
Meanwhile, would you believe that since 2014 alone Ohio State has had six first-round cornerbacks chosen, while Alabama will have its fifth since 2010 after Patrick Surtain II is picked this year?
There hasn’t even been a second-round corner selection from Notre Dame since Bobby Taylor more than a quarter century ago (1995).
In the 26 years since Taylor, the best three corners at Notre Dame have been consensus All-Americans Shane Walton (sixth round in 2003) and Julian Love (fourth round in 2019), and KeiVarae Russell (third round in 2016).
Interestingly, Walton was a walk-on from the soccer team, while Russell was recruited as a running back/slot receiver, but had to switch to corner — where he was a 2012 Freshman All-American — because of the lack of options. Walton and Love also were switched to safety in their first season in the NFL, as was 2012 fifth-round choice Robert Blanton.
Notre Dame remains very good and top-10 worthy, but this is also evidence of “The Gap.”
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