Five June-arriving freshmen who could become later bloomers for Notre Dame
Eleven of the 23 members of Notre Dame football freshman class didn’t have the chance to garner Blue-Gold Game love, like early enrolled wide receiver Jaden Greathouse did last month, or quarterback Steve Angeli and running back Jadarian Price in the 2022 intrasquad finale to spring football practice.
And yet history, and admittedly raw numbers, are on the side of the June-enrolling 11 for something more sustainable.
Eight of Notre Dame’s 10 FWAA Freshman All-Americans since the freshman team’s inception in 2001 have been June enrollees, including cornerback Benjamin Morrison last season and left tackle Joe Alt the year before. So have 13 of the past 18 home-grown NFL Draft picks.
So, who might be the late(r) bloomers in the 2023 freshman class?
Obvious need/opportunity helps, but both Morrison and Alt climbed over older players on the depth chart to get to the top. Summer classes start June 12.
With that in mind, here are five to consider:
1. Brenan Vernon, Defensive End
Notre Dame’s field end spot opened up when Rylie Mills moved inside full-time this spring and Justin Ademilola opted to start his pursuit of an NFL career this offseason instead of returning for a sixth year.
The Irish returned, notably, grad senior Nana Osafo-Mensah and plucked Ohio State grad transfer Javontae Jean-Baptiste from the transfer portal. Both showed progress in the spring, but neither had the look of a difference-maker yet, and depth would be welcomed.
The 6-5, 260-pound Vernon looks the part of an early riser. But can he act the part?
“Brenan Vernon’s a real interesting guy,” Rivals national director of recruiting Adam Gorney said on this week’s Inside ND Sports Podcast. “He is easily one of the best-looking kids in the entire 2023 class. He’s all of 6-5. He’s all of 260 pounds. No bad weight. Twitched-up looking. He looks like [former Ohio State All-American] Joey Bosa in person, maybe not as bulky but he’s going to get there.”
Gorney had a chance to evaluate Vernon in person in January at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio and the week of practices leading up to it.
“When we saw him at San Antonio — and I’d be interested to see him in Notre Dame practices — he either won the rep easily, like blew by the offensive lineman," Gorney said, "or once offensive linemen got a hold of him, he had no second move and just stopped.
“So, it’ll be interesting to see if that was just some weird adjustment to national competition. And to be completely honest, a lot of times guys from the Midwest, who end up being first-round draft picks, go (to national all-star game settings). And they’ve dominated so easily in high school and now they’re going up against some badass kids from the Southeast and Texas. And they don’t know what to do with themselves when they don’t win every single rep.
“So, maybe it’s something he needs to be taught when he gets to Notre Dame — a counter move, a second move to kind of battle. I don’t think it’s a motor issue, because he could get going. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, someone is stopping me. I don’t know what to do with myself.’”
He’ll get a chance to right away test himself against two of the best offensive tackles in all of college football.
“I think that will be the best thing for him,” Gorney said, “going up against Joe Alt, who’s definitely a first-round-level NFL Draft pick, and Blake Fisher, who’s developing into one. And then after practice be like, ‘What do I need to do to get better? How do I get better in that sense?’ Because from a physical standpoint and an athletic standpoint and just the look, he looks super elite.”
2. Jeremiyah Love, Running Back
Junior running back Logan Diggs’ plunge into the transfer portal last week shortened the rotation at running back to four, with only junior starter Audric Estimé having amassed more than two collegiate carries.
The 6-1,195-pound Love was rated higher coming out of high school than the other four, including Diggs. He has the skill set to get involved in the return game perhaps, and versatility and elite speed to help in the run and passing game. On April 14, eight days before attending the Blue-Gold Game as a spectator, he ran a 10.54-second 100-meter dash at the Kansas Relays.
That’s notably faster than the 10.76 the St. Louis product clocked in 2021 in winning the Missouri 5A state title in that event.
3. Micah Bell, Cornerback
Notre Dame is so deep at cornerback, Bell’s best opportunity could come in the return game, and the Houston Kinkaid standout will be one of the fastest Irish players and one of the slightest (5-10, 162).
His speed and athleticism are real (best 100 time each of the past two years is 10.41, career best 200 is 20.89, career best long jump is 24-5 ¼). He’ll need to muscle up to start climbing the cornerback depth chart, though.
4. Boubacar Traore, Defensive End
The one-time Boston College commit is a mystery of sorts, but one worth unraveling.
An ankle injury cut into Traore’s high school junior season significantly and another in 2022 virtually wiped out his senior season at West Roxbury (Mass.) High, so it’s difficult to gauge where he stands in his development.
But at 6-4, 250 and with a 80-inch wingspan, a quick burst and relentless power, he has a more complete toolbox than anyone who’ll start fall camp ahead of him on the vyper depth chart.
All three of those players surged, though, in the spring — senior Jordan Botelho, and sophomore Junior Tuihalamaka and Joshua Burnham. All three were Rivals250 prospects coming out of high school and all three are former linebackers, who have the coverage skills defensive coordinator Al Golden likes in his vyper ends.
Perhaps Traore, once a Rivals250 prospect himself until injuries made true evaluations difficult, evolves into a field end or even plays inside. If he can stay healthy, the potential is intriguing at all those positions.
5. Kaleb "KK" Smith, Wide Receiver
Spring attrition in his position group figures into Smith’s chances of contributing early. The Irish lost leading returning wide receiver receptions leader Lorenzo Styles to a position switch (cornerback) and days later to the transfer portal (Ohio State).
The same day Styles moved to corner, the other Kaleb Smith — a grad transfer from Virginia Tech — announced his retirement from football for medical reasons.
The 5-10, 170-pound Frisco, Texas, product had acquiesced to go by “KK” to avoid ambiguity before the elder Kaleb left the roster. Their body types and playing styles were quite different, but the theme of being largely overlooked coming out of high school is something they shared.
The Irish poached KK from Texas Tech’s class later in the recruiting cycle. The three-star prospect is the only one of Notre Dame’s wide receivers to enroll in June and the only one who wasn’t rated 160th or better as a prospect nationally in the 2023 class.
But he does bring sub-4.5 speed in the 40 and the ability to play in the slot or outside, so it makes him worth watching in fall training camp.
NOTRE DAME’S 2023 FRESHMAN CLASS
JANUARY ENROLLMENT
LB Jaiden Ausberry
LB Drayk Bowen
WR Rico Flores Jr.
CB Christian Gray
WR Jaden Greathouse
WR Braylon James
QB Kenny Minchey
OG Sam Pendleton
DT Devan Houstan
S Ben Minich
S Adon Shuler
LB Preston Zinter
JUNE ENROLLMENT
OT Sullivan Absher
CB Micah Bell
TE Cooper Flanagan
OT Charles Jagusah
RB Jeremiyah Love
DE Armel Mukam
OG Joe Otting
WR Kaleb “KK” Smith
OG Chris Terek
DE Boubacar Traore
DE Brenan Vernon
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @cbowles01.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports