Notre Dame Needs A Strong Recruiting Finish
Notre Dame landed its first commitment in the 2018 class almost 11 months ago. That was when Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec jumped on board.
Landing an elite quarterback to kick off the class was a tremendous move for Notre Dame, and the Irish staff has done nothing but add talent to that class ever since. Based on where things stand today, Notre Dame’s 12-man class ranks as the consensus third-best class in the entire country.
Notre Dame stood in very similar position a year ago, but a rough season on the field resulted in a number of decommitments, and the Irish ultimately finished just outside the top ten.
Recruiting coordinator Mike Elston and the rest of the Irish staff will look to add an impact class to the roster, and there is an opportunity that Notre Dame could very well end up close to where it ranks right now, as a legitimate top five class.
Notre Dame’s 2018 class will sign on the dotted line in just under nine months, which means the staff is over halfway through putting this class together. In order to maintain its standing as one of the nation’s best classes, Notre Dame still has a lot of work to do.
Far more important than the aesthetics of a highly regarded class, Notre Dame needs a strong finish in this class to bridge the gap that stands between itself and the current national powers of Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. This class has a chance to do just that.
1. HANG ON TIGHT: The most obvious piece to building an elite class is to hold onto the players already in the class. Notre Dame can’t be put in many situations where it must replace guys already in the fold. Putting this class together is going to be hard enough, but replacing the 12 already in the class – especially the top guys – will likely prove far too difficult to overcome.
Just as important, Notre Dame has met many top needs in the current class. It landed an elite quarterback (Jurkovec), it landed a talented every down back in Markese Stepp, it already has two talented receivers in the class in Micah Jones and Braden Lenzy, the Irish have a top-notch linebacker haul in Bo Bauer and Ovie Oghoufo, and the Irish hit a grand slam home run on the back end by landing safety Derrik Allen and cornerback Kalon Gervin.
Allen was an especially big pick up for a program that has struggled to land highly ranked safeties in recent seasons.
Notre Dame has also started well up front, especially on defense, Landing Jayson and Justin Ademilola was big for Notre Dame. Justin is a power end that can rush the quarterback, which fits defensive coordinator Mike Elko’s defense. Jayson has elite tools as a three technique, possessing the ability to rush the quarterback at a special level, which is a must for Elko’s defense.
2. DISRUPTIVE PLAYERS UP FRONT: Notre Dame has picked up its defensive line recruiting in recent seasons, landing nine players in the last two classes. More important, the Irish staff has added players with impact talent. The 2016 class saw Notre Dame land five-star end Daelin Hayes to go along with four-star edge players Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem. The 2017 class saw Notre Dame land defensive tackle Darnell Ewell, its highest ranked defensive tackle signee since Louis Nix back in the 2010 class. Ewell was joined by four other talented linemen.
What has hurt Notre Dame in the past is it struggled to string together quality defensive line classes year after year after year. As good as the 2016 class was at end, Notre Dame failed to land an interior player in that class, which came a year after it failed to land an end in the 2015 class.
Notre Dame’s 2017 class was balanced, with the staff bringing in two raw but talented ends (Kofi Wardlow, Jonathon MacCollister) to go along with a talented trio of interior players in Ewell, Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa.
The 2018 class is off to a good start with the pickup of the Ademilola brothers, which was discussed above. Notre Dame absolutely must add at least one more interior player and one more talented player at end to finish this class off the right way. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake.
Notre Dame has put itself in great position with Ridgely (Md.) North Carolina nose tackle Ja’mion Franklin, but it must close him out and add him to the class. Franklin and Jayson Ademilola would be an excellent NT/DT combination in the class. Notre Dame is also hoping to add Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh four-star defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher, would could play either nose tackle or defensive tackle, which would make him the perfect complement to a class that also has Ademilola and Franklin.
On the outside, Notre Dame has an impressive list of players on the board, and it needs to add another player that can be a disruptive force. The Irish recently received a visit from Baltimore (Md.) Gilman standout end Thomas Booker and is hoping to get Cleveland Heights (Ohio) end Tyreke Smith on campus. Smith has elite upside. Conroe (Texas) Oak Ridge end Joseph Ossai, Mobile (Ala.) Christian end Andres Fox, Salt Lake City (Utah) Olympus end Cameron Latu and San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic athletic end Abdul-Malik McClain are pure ends Notre Dame is trying to get on campus.
There are some hyrid linebacker players that project more as drop ends in Notre Dame’s defense, and landing one of them could prove impactful for the Irish defense. Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage pass rusher Andrew Chatfield projects as that kind of player, and he visited Notre Dame on April 13th. Notre Dame is also working to get Athens (Ga.) Christian athletic edge player Richard Jibunor and Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic standout Eli’Jah Winston on campus as well.
Landing any two players from that long list of edge players to go along with Franklin and/or Mustipher would give the Irish an outstanding haul up front.
3. MORE IMPACTFUL OFFENSIVE PLAYERS ARE NEEDED: This is partly out of need and partly about taking advantage of a strong, strong national class at wide receiver. Notre Dame has already added Jones and Lenzy, a pair of Rivals250 recruis that project as potential impact players for the Irish down the road. Jones gives Notre Dame a big-bodied player while Lenzy adds elite speed to the position.
That’s a great way to start, but Notre Dame will look to add at least two more players to its offensive haul.
A pair of talented pass catchers will be on campus for the Blue-Gold Game on April 22nd, and Notre Dame will look to make a big move with both players. Coconut Creek (Fla.) North Broward standout Kevin Austin is a must-get for Notre Dame, and Austin is high on the Irish. His visit will go a long way towards determining if the Irish can close him out.
One of the best athletes and most versatile players in the country is Medford (Ore.) South star Chase Cota, who could be an impact player on either side of the ball. What makes Cota unique is that he has great size at 6-3, but he also can make plays after the catch, which makes him an ideal fit in offensive coordinator Chip Long’s offense. Cota is also tight with Lenzy.
Notre Dame has a very, very long list of wide receivers it wants to get on campus moving forward. Who shows up this summer will determine who the legitimate candidates are at the position.
If the Irish can land one or both of Austin and Cota it would give them arguably the top receiving class in the country, and passing that four-man group would be hard for anyone to do. At that point the Irish would look to possibly add an elite player to the group. Expect Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to be a top target for the Irish regardless of who the staff adds to the class before he makes his decision.
4. KEEP IMPROVING THE BACK SEVEN ATHLETICISM: Notre Dame has recruited the linebacker position very well in recent seasons, and its secondary recruiting has been upgraded as well, despite not landing a cornerback in the 2017 class.
Landing Bauer and Oghoufo was huge for its linebacker class and Allen and Gervin give the Irish two impact players on the back end. I graded Allen out as the best safety to sign with Notre Dame since Harrison Smith jumped on board back in the 2007 class.
To really close the gap on the top programs in the country and finish with a truly elite class, Notre Dame must add to this group, and it must continue to upgrade its speed and athleticism on both levels in order to maximize Elko’s attacking defense.
At linebacker, Notre Dame’s top remaining target is clear, and he’ll make his decision soon. Toledo (Ohio) St. John’s linebacker Dallas Gant is without question the top linebacker on the board for Notre Dame, and the Irish have put themselves in good position to beat out Ohio State and Michigan for his services, although its far from a done deal.
If Gant picks Notre Dame it could very well bring its linebacker recruiting to an end, with the staff then focusing more on the drop end position and the rover spot.
At rover, Notre Dame’s board is still growing and evolving, but a top target recently visited campus.
Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter’s Prep standout rover Shayne Simon visited Notre Dame on April 13th, and he’s arguably the top rover on the board. Simon plays the position in high school, and he perfectly combines the linebacker/safety hybrid skills Elko wants and needs at the position.
Stanford and Michigan serve as Notre Dame’s top competition for Simon, a teammate of the Ademilola twins.
Should Notre Dame land Gant and miss out on Simon, the Irish could easily play Oghoufo – who projects at both Buck and rover – on the outside.
On the back end, Notre Dame’s board is broad and at this point there is a lot of uncertainty about who it will end up adding to go with Allen and Gervin. A popular name is highly ranked cornerback Houston Griffith, who plays for Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. The native of Chicago has Notre Dame high on his list, but he’s far from a lock. Griffith could play cornerback or safety in Elko’s defense.
The top safety on the board for Notre Dame in my view is Oakland (Calif.) Bishop O’Dowd standout Jevon Holland, whose film and athletic skills far outshine his three-star ranking. Holland has impact talent, and adding him to a class that already has Allen and Gervin would be huge for Notre Dame. Holland has yet to set a visit, and until that happens Notre Dame must be considered on the outside looking in, but making him a top priority would be a great idea for the Irish staff.
Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson defensive back Justin Birdsong is incredibly high on Notre Dame. So much so that he has not been shy about telling people that he’d likely commit to the Irish should he receive an offer. If the staff decides to extend an offer during his April 22nd visit for the Blue-Gold Game, he could very well be the next defensive back to join the class.
Right now the staff remains undecided on what to do with Birdsong, a talented player who spent most of his junior season playing safety, but an athlete who projects more as a cornerback. Birdsong’s offer list is curious, as it does not fit what I see on film.
5. MORE PLAYMAKERS: Notre Dame has added a lot of good football players in the last five recruiting cycles, but in some areas it has failed to land enough recruits with top-level playmaking ability. It has a chance to add those types of players on every level, but it must close out, and that will not be easy.
Jurkovec, Allen, Lenzy, Jones and Gervin are skill players with that potential, but more are needed. Jayson Ademilola has that talent on the defensive line and if healthy, Stepp can be that kind of player in the backfield. Bauer has that potential as a Mike linebacker and Oghoufo is one of the top athletes in the country at linebacker.
Those players are not enough, and the rest of the class must add even more playmakers to the roster.
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