Does Notre Dame’s Offensive Recruiting Help Bridge The Gap To Clemson, OSU?

After the 2018 season, Notre Dame lost a first-round pick at defensive tackle, a consensus All-American at cornerback and two multi-year starters at linebacker. Yet Notre Dame bounced back in 2019 with the No. 5 defense in college football according to Football Outsider’s Defensive FEI Ratings and ESPN’s Defense Efficiency Ratings.

According to both metrics, the Fighting Irish finished with a better defense than reigning national champion LSU, which waxed Clemson in the 42-25 in the title game. LSU finished the season No. 13 in DFEI and No. 11 in the FPI.

Of course, Notre Dame had one pathetic showing in 2019, a 45-14 loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor. But outside of that game, the Fighting Irish have proved they can produce a top-tier college football defense, even while finishing in the 10 to 15 range in Rivals’ annual team recruiting rankings.

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Does Notre Dame have room for improvement on defense? Of course, but if the offensive side of the ball was on par with the Fighting Irish defense, this team would be a whole lot closer to winning a national championship.

Last season, Notre Dame averaged 36.8 points per game, the best scoring mark of the Brian Kelly era. But all four 2019 College Football Playoff teams — LSU, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma — all averaged between 42 and 48 points per game.

Additionally, all four were in the top five of Football Outsider’s Offensive FEI Ratings and ESPN’s Offensive Efficiency Ratings. Whereas, Notre Dame finished No. 25 and No. 26, respectively.

The good news for Fighting Irish fans is that Notre Dame may be actually adding some of the offensive firepower it needs to take the next step and go from occasional College Football Playoff team to one that actually competes for national championships.

Over the last two recruiting cycles, Notre Dame has signed or earned commitments from two five-star offensive players, as well as five others in the top 100. An additional six players are rated as four-star prospects and fall in the Rivals250.

That is 13 highly rated offensive players who will be competing for playing time at Notre Dame, potentially through 2025. Notice, the list above also includes a top-80 player at every position group. Also, not referenced are very talented and high upside three-star prospects in wide receiver Xavier Watts, offensive tackle Joe Alt, and tight ends Cane Berrong and Mitchell Evans.

The 2020 and 2021 classes also help to address two of Notre Dame’s most important positions of need: quarterback and wide receiver.

We’ve seen from last year’s college football playoff teams, having a transcendent quarterback is important. LSU’s Joe Burrow won the Heisman and went No. 1 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts was the Heisman runner-up and a second-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are Heisman front runners this season and should both be taken in the top 10 of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Does Notre Dame have a future Heisman contender in Pyne or Buchner? It’s hard to say just yet, but the more high-end recruits the Fighting Irish can add to its roster at the quarterback position the better.

As for receiver, in two games thus far in 2020, the position group has just 110 yards and one touchdown and needs help here desperately.

But regardless of how the 2020 and 2021 classes address Notre Dame’s needs going forward, it represents an offensive haul that transcends talent acquired in recent memory.

For some perspective, over a three-year span from 2017-19, the Fighting Irish signed a total of 12 Rivals250 offensive players.

This two-year haul also matched the number of top-100 offensive players that Notre Dame enrolled from 2016-19, and during that time span, only two were top-50 players in tight end Brock Wright and offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer.

The last Rivals five-star player Notre Dame signed on offense was offensive lineman Quenton Nelson in 2014.

In 2022 and 2023, Notre Dame is scheduled for home-and-home matchups with two perennial College Football Playoff teams in Clemson and Ohio State. As referenced above, both are two of the top offensive teams in the country and the Fighting Irish will need to be able to keep up with them in order to produce a victory or two.

During those seasons, the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes should be ready to contribute. So how do Notre Dame’s offensive prospects stack up compared to those at Clemson and Ohio State?

When it comes to Clemson, quite well actually. As the classes currently stand, both the Irish and the Tigers have signed or earned a commitment from 13 Rivals250 offensive players.

There six top-100 players for Clemson, four of which are in the top 50. Two of them are five-stars, but that includes running back DeMarkcus Bowman, who entered the transfer portal this past week.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes currently have 14 Rivals250 players between the 2020 and 2021 classes, but their top-end talent is unreal. A total of 11 players are in the top 100, with five ranking as five-star prospects.

Will Notre Dame have enough in the tank to compete with these teams on offense while also staying just as good or improving on defense?

Only time will tell, but it is conceivable the Fighting Irish have taken the steps necessary to be more competitive with Clemson, Ohio State and the other programs at the top of the mountain in college football.

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