Notre Dame adds another WR to 2023 class following Kaleb Smith's commitment
One year after the Irish only signed one wide receiver, Notre Dame first-year wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey has added a fourth pass catcher to the 2023 recruiting class.
On Thursday, three-star wide receiver Kaleb Smith from Frisco (Texas) Rick Reedy High announced his Notre Dame commitment. The 6-foot, 168-pound senior chose the Irish after decommitting from Texas Tech on Nov. 4 and officially visiting Notre Dame the weekend of the Clemson game Nov. 5.
Rivals has not ranked Smith among prospects on national, state, or positional levels. However, his current 5.5 rating projects an All-Region level prospect, with the player deemed to have mid to low-end pro potential and ability to impact at the college level. He is expected to get a rating upgrade in next week's rankings update.
While Smith has only reported scholarship offers from Notre Dame and Texas Tech, Smith has been on Stuckey's radar for some time. When Stuckey was at Baylor last season, Smith participated in a camp session June 19, 2021, and returned to Waco, Texas, for a game day visit Nov. 27, 2021.
Smith also camped at Texas A&M (June 17) and unofficially visited Southern Methodist.
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Stuckey's interest in Smith came public about a month ago.
After weeks of behind-the-scenes conversations with Smith, he announced his Notre Dame offer Nov. 4. The Irish already had three highly-rated Rivals250 wide receiver commits in Rico Flores Jr., Jaden Greathouse and Braylon James. Initially, Notre Dame positioned itself well to get a fourth in Ronan Hanafin following his June 10-12 official visit. But Hanafin spurned the Irish for Clemson.
Five days before Hanafin's public commitment to Clemson, Notre Dame offered three-star wide receiver Taeshaun Lyons. The next month, Lyons officially visited ND for the California game Sept. 17, but uncertainty surrounding his aspirations to commit to Notre Dame caused it to expand the wide receivers board. ND also offered three-star athlete Khalil Barnes from Bogart (Ga.) North Oconee High on Oct. 13.
But Smith was the one to choose the Irish first and solidified the fourth wide receiver spot in the class.
Smith's commitment comes after a senior season in which he produced 43 catches for 649 yards (15.1 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. He also scored on kick and punt returns, combining for 224 yards on six special teams returns. During his junior campaign, he caught 35 passes for 475 yards (13.6 yards per catch) and six scores.
"Despite not popping onto the national radar until late in his recruitment, Frisco (Texas) Reedy wide receiver Kaleb Smith has a lot to like about his game," Rivals national recruiting analyst Nick Harris said. "The 6-foot-0, 168-pound Smith only saw limited varsity action going into his senior season, but the Dallas-Fort Worth-area weapon showed game-changing ability both as a receiver and a punt/kick return specialist. Smith uses quick breaks and a deep route tree as a receiver to create separation either off the line or at the next level.
"In South Bend, Smith will walk onto a crowded depth chart at both receiver and return specialist as Notre Dame has multiple weapons committed in 2023 (Peyton Bowen, Micah Bell, Dylan Edwards, etc.) that could see an opportunity on special teams as well. Smith will need some development early at Notre Dame both physically and on the field, but once at his peak, he can shine as a weapon in the Irish's passing game and beyond."
If Smith, Greathouse, James, cornerback Micah Bell and safety Peyton Bowen sign with the Irish, it will mark the first time Notre Dame has signed more than three players from Texas in a single recruiting class in the Rivals recruiting era (since 2002). Since 2017, the Irish have added five players from the Longhorn State: Avery Davis, Brock Wright, Nana Osafo-Mensah, Hunter Spears and Jadarian Price.
Notre Dame has 26 total commits in the 2023 class.
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