Even As Other Top-Tier Programs Falter, Notre Dame Avoids Decommitments
Throughout the class of 2020 recruiting cycle, two defensive backs Fighting Irish fans hoped Notre Dame would land were four-star athlete Cameron Martinez from Muskegon, Mich., and Rivals100 cornerback Clark Phillips from La Habra, Calif.
For various reasons, both instead committed to Ohio State before the season, making up half of the Buckeye’s much-heralded 2020 defensive backfield.
But after Buckeye co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley left to be the head coach at Boston College last week, their status with Ohio State weakened.
Phillips ended up flipping to Utah yesterday, while Martinez stated that he won’t be inking with the Buckeyes during the early signing period, but some wonder if he'll sign at all. Now the undefeated Big 10 Champs must scramble to fill out the class while they prepare for the College Football Playoffs.
Notre Dame’s 2019 defensive coaching staff is still intact, but head coach Brian Kelly made it clear that he’s upfront about what the university represents and what it can offer. The program does not want players that simply commit to a coach.
That’s why all 17 prospects committed to Notre Dame before offensive coordinator Chip Long’s exit signed with the Irish on Wednesday.
“No one person is stronger than the university,” Kelly said. “For those guys that decide to go to schools based upon one individual, then you're left up to those kinds of, you know, de-commitments based upon singular relationships. That's never how we have recruited here at Notre Dame and that's not how we'll ever recruit.”
That’s at least been the case in South Bend as of late. In the past two recruiting cycles, Notre Dame has suffered just one decommitment: 2019 pro-style quarterback Cade McNamara, a four-star prospect from Reno, Nev. who ended up signing with Michigan.
McNamara broke his pledge to the Irish at the beginning of March in 2018, and the Notre Dame coaching staff quickly moved on, eventually finding Brendon Clark, the offensive scout team player of the year at Echoes 2019.
This had such a small impact on the class that when decommitments were brought up to Kelly on Wednesday, McNamara didn’t even come to mind.
“Did we lose any last year?” Kelly asked.
2019 wide receiver TJ Sheffield at one point also technically announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish, but shortly after was told by wide receivers coach Del Alexander that Notre Dame would not be honoring his pledge.
The last time Notre Dame was seriously impacted by prospect decommitting near the end of the season was in 2016 after a disastrous 4-8 record. Both Mansfield, Texas four-star cornerback Paulson Adebo and La Mirada, Calif. four-star athlete Elijah Hicks backed off their pledges to the Irish, leaving the team without any corners in the 2017 class.
Both ended up flourishing at other top-tier academic institutions, as Adebo signed with Stanford and became an All-American and Hicks is having a solid career after picking Cal.
Notre Dame is still working to overcome the loss of these two players, signing seven corners in the last two classes (including freshman Cam Hart, who made the move from wide receiver to the defensive side of the ball mid-season).
Between late November 2016 and January 2017, the Irish lost four total commits in the 2017 recruiting class. The other two were and Winter Park, Fla. receiver Jordan Pouncy and Indianapolis linebacker Pete Werner.
Two other 2017 pledges also backed off their commitments before the season in Beaver Falls, Pa. four-star defensive end Donovan Jeter and Rivals250 Bradenton (Fla.) defensive end Robert Beal.
Pouncy actually decommitted from his Fighting Irish pledge because then wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock was leaving the program for Cincinnati. It's safe to say that wouldn't happen today.
"Not one guy recruits here at Notre Dame," Kelly said. "It's not 'your guy.' It's 'our guy.' I recruit them, Coach Polian recruits them, we team recruit. That's how we do things here at Notre Dame. And Notre Dame recruits to Notre Dame."
In the 2018 class, Notre Dame had a few decommitments but one of them, Irish wide receiver Braden Lenzy, ended up circling back with Notre Dame and signing with the team in December.
"Ultimately, it becomes about fit and picking Notre Dame for the right reasons," said recruiting coordinator Brian Polian. "Coach mentioned earlier, one thing that we have been very intentional about here in the last couple of years is the first time a prospect arrives on our campus, we're going to be very clear about who we are, what we stand for, what the demands are going to be here. Those distinctions, we're talking about them immediately.
"So that way, if a prospect decides to move forward with us, they know exactly who we are. Less surprises. And I think that's equated to less surprises down the road.”
That's why, even in a year where Notre Dame loses its offensive coordinator and its on-the-field results don't stack up to Ohio State's, they can avoid decommitments and undefeated teams can't.
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