Notre Dame’s ‘All-Flip Team’ Of The Brian Kelly Era
Notre Dame has engaged in its share of recruiting thievery.
Since head coach Brian Kelly arrived in December 2009, he and his staff have secured commitments from 49 players who had previously pledged to another school. Many of those were straight flips, where the player shocked one fan base while surprising another at the same time.
Oddly enough, Notre Dame hasn’t flipped someone else’s recruit since the 2019 class. None of its 2020 signees were committed elsewhere. The same goes for its nine current members of the 2021 class.
Back in earlier cycles, though, Notre Dame routinely had five or six players who were once content to head elsewhere become part of its class. National Signing Day flips like C’Bo Flemister and Eddie Vanderdoes were sonic boom-inducing surprises. January swoops like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Dexter Williams and Chase Hounshell create optimal mania in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day.
All told, there are enough instances of Notre Dame’s coaches convincing players to change their prior commitments to field an entire team. One wonders how competitive it would be.
I decided to find out. The result? Eleven NFL Draft picks – 10 of whom are active – 12 players who signed NFL contracts, and three current players considered possible 2021 draftees.
As for the position groups, offensive line might be a little shaky. Quarterback, though, had a number of strong options. Same goes for defensive line. I hear those are two pretty good spots to have depth.
I present the All-Flip Team of the Brian Kelly era, composed entirely of players who changed commitments and eventually played for Notre Dame. (That wording makes Vanderdoes ineligible, though he will be on my All-Decommit team to come soon).
The primary tool used for picking players is performance and impact at Notre Dame, though in equal situations, I gave the nod to players who were considered the bigger catch when they picked the Fighting Irish. In a couple cases, a flip happened under Charlie Weis’ watch, but I included those players if they ended up in Kelly’s 2010 class.
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Ian Book
Previous commitment: Washington State
Class: 2016
Since 2010, Notre Dame has signed six quarterbacks who were once pledged elsewhere, including the starters of both 12-0 team. This was, then, the most difficult call. Everett Golson was a mighty prize when he flipped from North Carolina two months before National Signing Day in 2011. Brandon Wimbush, who spurned Penn State for Notre Dame during the 2014 season, trumps both in high school accolades and rating.
Book, though, emerged to steady the quarterback position in 2018 to make the College Football Playoff run. The following year, he tossed 34 touchdowns while leading the highest-scoring offense of the Kelly era. Neither of the other two can claim such honors. Book has thrown four fewer touchdowns (57) than Wimbush and Golson combined to throw at Notre Dame (61).
Honorable Mention: Golson and Wimbush
Running Back
Dexter Williams
Previous commitment: Miami
Class: 2015
Williams put aside a rocky first three years and off-field trouble to run for 995 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine games in 2018, another late-blooming back in Notre Dame’s recent history of them. He had four games with at least 140 yards and was a sixth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2019. As a recruit, he picked Notre Dame on National Signing Day after backing off his Miami pledge a month earlier.
Honorable mention: Jafar Armstrong (Missouri)
Wide Receiver
Will Fuller
Previous commitment: Penn State
Class: 2013
Here is the team’s biggest star. Notre Dame flipped the Philadelphia native from Penn State in August 2012. In three seasons, he had 2,580 yards and 30 touchdowns – 29 of which came in his last two years. He was an All-American in 2015 and a first-round pick of the Houston Texans.
TJ Jones
Previous commitment: Stanford
Class: 2010
Jones committed to Notre Dame, his father’s alma mater, when Weis was still the coach. Kelly, though, wanted to keep him and signed him as part of his first class at Notre Dame. Jones was a four-year contributor and had at least 300 yards every year. He led all Irish receivers in yards from 2012-13. In his final year, he had 1,108 yards and nine touchdowns. The Detroit Lions took Jones in the sixth round in 2014. He’s currently a free agent.
Honorable mention: Braden Lenzy (Oregon)
Tight End
Alizé Mack
Previous commitment: UCLA
Class: 2015
Notre Dame flipped the top-150 player from UCLA in January 2015. He never quite became the superstar envisioned and served an academic suspension in 2016, but still had 360 yards as the starter in 2018. He was a seventh-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2019 and is now a free agent.
Durham Smythe
Previous commitment: Texas
Class: 2013
Notre Dame beat out Baylor and Stanford for Smythe, who reopened his recruitment in December 2012. A five-year player, Smythe had 381 career yards and six touchdowns. Despite only one year as a starter, the Miami Dolphins took him the fourth round in 2018. He has 13 career NFL catches.
Offensive Tackle
Tate Nichols
Previous commitment: Stanford
Class: 2010
This is the team’s weakest spot. Nichols, a 6-foot-8 high school tight end, looks the part of a left tackle. He battled injuries in three years at Notre Dame, though, and medically retired in 2013 and never played in a game. Notre Dame flipped from Stanford a few weeks after Kelly took over.
Jarron Jones
Previous commitment: Penn State
Class: 2012
I had to get a bit creative here, since Notre Dame has only signed four linemen since 2010 who were previously committed elsewhere. Jones can reasonably go here because he was an offensive lineman during his brief NFL and XFL stint. To make this team work, that’s where I’m putting him, even though he played defensive line in college.
Jones stuck around for five years and had 11 tackles for loss in 2016, his last season. He reopened his recruitment in the summer of 2011 and chose Notre Dame about a month later.
Interior Line
Nick Martin
Previous commitment: Kentucky
Class: 2011
Martin was a three-year starter and played alongside his brother, Zach, his first year. He played guard and center. The Texans took him in the second round in 2016 and gave him an extension last year.
Luke Jones
Previous commitment: Arkansas
Class: 2018
Another necessity move given the lack of available offensive linemen. Jones redshirted his first year and transferred in 2019. He was competing for a second-string spot on the interior line. Notre Dame flipped him from Arkansas, his home state school, in December 2017. He now plays for the Razorbacks.
Jarrett Patterson
Previous commitment: Arizona State
Class: 2018
Patterson took over as Notre Dame’s starting center for the 2019 season. Pro Football Focus gave him the second-highest run blocking grade among the five starters. Notre Dame entered the picture for Patterson in January 2018, hosted him for an official visit and earned his commitment on signing day, beating out Michigan and UCLA.
DEFENSE
Defensive End
Stephon Tuitt
Previous commitment: Georgia Tech
Class: 2011
This is a recommit situation for the former five-star recruit. Tuitt was originally a Notre Dame pledge before Georgia Tech flipped him in January 2011. Notre Dame stole him back a couple weeks later. In three years, Tuitt had 21.5 sacks, 25.0 tackles for loss and was one of the most important defenders on the 2012 team. He was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he still plays.
Ade Ogundeji
Previous commitment: Western Michigan
Class: 2016
Ogundeji shined in a sub-package role last year and is primed for a fifth-year breakout in 2020. He’s already on NFL Draft radars. Originally a mid-major recruit, his stock soared before his senior year and he picked Notre Dame that summer.
Honorable mention: Daelin Hayes (USC) and Aaron Lynch (Florida State)
Defensive Tackle
Louis Nix III
Previous commitment: Miami
Class: 2010
“Irish Chocolate” was a backfield wrecker from his nose tackle spot in 2012, notching 7.5 tackles for loss. Interior linemen aren’t supposed to make 50 tackles in a season either, which Nix did in 2012. The Texans took him in the third round in 2014. He is out of the league.
Khalid Kareem
Previous commitment: Alabama
Class: 2016
I needed to get a little creative here too, since Vanderdoes is not eligible for this team. Notre Dame has flipped other defensive tackles, but Kareem needed a spot on this team and this was an easy way to do it. He played inside at times. He had at least 10.0 tackles for loss in each of his last two years and was a fifth-round pick last month.
Notre Dame became a frontrunner right when Kareem decommitted from Alabama during the 2015 season.
Linebacker
Drue Tranquill
Previous commitment: Purdue
Class: 2014
Tranquill was a starter at middle linebacker and a captain from 2017-18, when he totaled 171 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. He was the leader of two sturdy defenses and worked his way up from redshirt to 2019 fourth-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Chargers. By the end of his rookie year, he was a starter.
Notre Dame offered Tranquill after he committed to Purdue before his senior year. The two battled for a few months before he flipped in November 2013.
Danny Spond
Previous commitment: Colorado
Class: 2010
Spond’s career ended due to injury before his fifth year, but not until after he was a reliable starter next to Manti Te’o in 2012. He made 39 tackles and broke up three passes that year.
A member of Kelly’s first class, Spond picked Notre Dame over TCU on National Signing Day. He backed off his Colorado pledge during the season.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Previous commitment: Virginia
Class: 2017
Only Sheldon Day had more tackles for loss than JOK’s 13.5 in 2019. He emerged from nowhere to claim Notre Dame’s starting Rover role and is considered a possible day-two pick in the 2021 draft.
Notre Dame offered in January, hosted him for a visit and landed him on National Signing Day, a few days after he decommitted. He also took a late official to Michigan State.
Cornerback
Troy Pride Jr.
Previous commitment: Virginia Tech
Class: 2016
Pride Jr. started games in each of his four years and shined opposite Julian Love in 2018. He also ran for Notre Dame’s track team as a sprinter. The Carolina Panthers drafted him in April.
Shaun Crawford
Previous commitment: Michigan
Class: 2015
Crawford has endured two ACL tears and struggled to stay healthy, but has been reliable when on the field as a slot and nickel corner. His best season was 2017, when he had two interceptions and five passes broken up in 11 games. He returns for his sixth season.
Crawford committed to Notre Dame in June 2014, about a month after backing off his verbal to Michigan.
Safety
Max Redfield
Previous commitment: USC
Class: 2013
The end was ugly — Redfield was dismissed after an August 2016 arrest on gun and drug charges. Before it, though, he was a two-year starter at safety and combined for 132 tackles and two interceptions from 2014-15.
Redfield’s commitment was one of the most notable of Kelly’s tenure. Notre Dame beat out Washington for Redfield, a five-star recruit from Southern California. He chose the Irish in January 2013, a couple months after ending his relationship with USC.
Houston Griffith
Previous commitment: Florida State
Class: 2018
Griffith has played a backup role in his first two years, but is fighting for the starting safety spot next to Kyle Hamilton. His status as a recruit earned him this spot over other backups. Notre Dame flipped Griffith, a Chicago native, in December 2017. He was the highest-rated signee in the Irish’s 2018 class, at No. 43 overall.
Specialist
Jonathan Doerer
Previous commitment: Maryland
Class: 2017
Doerer took over for Justin Yoon in 2019 and converted 17 of 20 field goal attempts, with two of the makes from 50-plus yards. He was the kickoff specialist his first two years. Notre Dame offered, hosted and flipped the Charlotte, N.C., native in January 2017.
Other Notes
• Penn State is the most frequent flipped-from school for Notre Dame since 2010 (four times).
• Five of the 49 were from Group of Five schools, but only one since 2011 (Ogundeji).
• The 49 players are from 23 states.
Here are the other flips of the Kelly era:
2019: QB Brendan Clark (Wake Forest) and LB JD Bertrand (Georgia)
2018: DB Noah Boykin (Maryland), DB DJ Brown (Virginia) and RB C’Bo Flemister (Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern)
2017: DB Jordan Genmark-Heath (California) and DE Kofi Wardlow (Maryland)
2016: DB D.J. Morgan (Arizona State) and DB Spencer Perry (Florida)
2015: LB Josh Barajas (Penn State) and DB Ashton White (Virginia Tech)
2014: DT Peter Mokwuah (Rutgers) and DE Jhonny Williams (Missouri)
2013: RB Greg Bryant (Oklahoma), DT Eddie Vanderdoes (USC) and LB Doug Randolph (Stanford)
2012: QB Gunner Kiel (Indiana, LSU)
2011: LB Chase Hounshell (Florida)
2010: QB Luke Massa (Cincinnati), QB Derek Roback (Toledo), DT Kona Schwenke (BYU) and DB Chris Badger (BYU)
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