Notre Dame Football Recruiting Notebook
Envision a one- or two-star football prospect going to a camp laden with almost exclusively five-star talent. It won’t take long to realize he is out of place, likely intimidated and not a “fit.”
The same principle applies in Notre Dame’s football recruiting when attempting to find the right profile beyond just the playing field, per recruiting coordinator/special teams coordinator Brian Polian and associate head coach/defensive line coach Mike Elston.
The classrooms at Notre Dame are going to be replete with five-star academic talents (valedictorians and salutatorians) — which can be equally intimidating to a talented football player who might “only” be a solid B-student, or a three- or four-star academically in comparison. As a result, Notre Dame’s coaching staff "star ratings" are not based just on game tape and measurables found in combines and football camps.
“There’s more to it that Coach Kelly has put together,” noted Elston, who enters his 18th year working under Kelly. “Academic foundation, core curriculum, support system to be successful at Notre Dame. Is he a good citizen? Does he make great decisions? Is he a leader? Work ethic …
“We put ratings on all of that stuff. … What’s missed in a national ranking is if Notre Dame finishes in the top 10 [are] those components that we put a lot of onus us in terms of our evaluation system.”
When asked how many players from a random top 100 list Notre Dame is able to recruit based on fit and comfort with the school’s standards or demands, Elston said it can vary each cycle but “I would say less than half are guys that we can target and go after for one reason or another.”
He pointed to his top recruit in 2021, defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio (No. 109 nationally in Rivals), who attended Lutheran of St. Charles in St. Peter’s, Mo.
“I gave him a challenge that we need to see your academics go up before we offer you a scholarship,” Elston said.
Rather than resist or respond that he can go to other football powers, Rubio elevated his grade-point average appreciably and demonstrated the “traits” necessary to achieve on and off the field at Notre Dame.
Eye Of The Tiger
Feted in the past as one of the nation’s better recruiters, part of why he has the associate head coach tag, Elston said watching newly hired defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman on the trail has been invigorating.
“He’s a tiger, and I love that,” Elston said. “I love working with other coaches that attack in the recruiting cycle and build relationships and challenge me as a position coach to do the same.
“I’m always trying to look inward to find out how I can improve. Watching him build relationships and communicate in collaboration with the staff, that’s been really fun … this is something we’ve really enjoyed and learned from.”
Name, Image & Likeness
Collegiate sports might be listed “amateur” in nature, but it appears inevitable that in the future premier student-athletes will benefit financially with Name, Image & Likeness that goes with their brand.
When that day arrives, Polian said Notre Dame will more than hold its own on the recruiting trail.
“Frankly, the power of the Notre Dame brand is national, it’s not regional,” he said. “I have no doubt that as the rules are put in place that we will be able to capitalize on that brand and our student-athletes will be able to as well.”
However, there will be limits as well, which goes back to how someone will fit at Notre Dame
“We’re not going to get into recruiting battles with another school because they can have a guy go to a car dealership and sign autographs for $10 an autograph,” Polian said. “If you’re picking Notre Dame, something like that is not going to be the difference in picking this education and this atmosphere in this incredible campus.
“If you want that, a car show is not going to be the difference.”
Intangibles Rating
In addition to monitoring a Notre Dame fit academically and socially, a coach must evaluate beyond the physical “measurables.” Those are labeled the intangibles.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who started 31 games at quarterback for the Fighting Irish from 2010-13, looks at several aspects that can’t be seen on tape or even in games, especially at signal-caller.
“The first thing I want to know is do they love the game of football,” Rees said.
Sometimes Rees will ask random questions of a recruit such as does he know where a top NFL quarterback attended college, who was in the College Football Playoff the year prior, did he watch the Thursday night game …
“Because at this position you need to [love the overall game] in order to be committed to the best version of yourself,” Rees said. “The other thing that we can do, there are different ways cognitively to see how they can learn, adapt, pick things up in a short period of time.”
Rees pointed out how at an NFL combine, beyond just 40 times, bench presses and vertical jumps, etc., there are quick meetings with quarterbacks to teach a concept or formation — and then take the sheet away and see how strong their retention is and how they can process and verbalize it back to the coach.
When most factors are equal physically, the mental aspect can offer the separation in a choice.
Also, it’s important to not merely talk to the people in a prospect’s own school — coaches, teachers, counselors — but also rival coaches to get an idea of what kind of competitor he is and how challenging it is to game plan around him.
Finally, Rees, who also was an outstanding high school point guard, prefers a quarterback whose athletic skills are demonstrated in other sports.
“The more you can see a kid playing basketball, playing baseball, competing in another realm, it’s invaluable,” he said. “If you’re a Division I quarterback out of high school, you should be good enough to be in the top seven of your high school basketball team, playing baseball, something else.”
If he’s not a superstar in the other sport, that’s fine too.
“That teaches you how to be a different type of teammate. It teaches you about being selfless, it teaches you how to compete and take ownership of a different role — and ultimately that’s going to help you where you’re the star [at quarterback].”
(See more on this in a later story with 2021 QB recruit Tyler Buchner.)
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