Notre Dame's Scholarship Numbers Crunching
Earlier this week we reviewed the 11 scholarship seniors who are eligible to return for a fifth season in 2020, and what the outlook was for each.
While not all 11 seniors eligible for a fifth season in 2020 will return, here is the current breakdown of the roster by class year:
11 FIFTH-YEAR SENIORS
The five starters we anticipate most likely returning are quarterback Ian Book, offensive linemen Liam Eichenberg (left tackle) and Tommy Kraemer (right guard), and defensive ends Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji. Eichenberg and Hayes already have declared either publicly or via social media their plan to return.
Two other starters include running back Tony Jones Jr. and safety Alohi Gilman, but we consider them more on the bubble, and the same with receiver Javon McKinley, cornerback Shaun Crawford (although in September he stated he doesn't plan to apply for a sixth season in 2020) and long-snapper John Shannon.
Either way, five is the bare minimum we expect, while eight would be the maximum.
17 SENIORS
Tight end Cole Kmet indicated in November that his intent was to return for his senior year instead of turning pro, while also playing baseball in the spring. Younger brother Casey Kmet, a freshman, is also on the baseball roster.
Included in this class is Ohio State graduate transfer and safety Isaiah Pryor, who will enroll in January and be immediately eligible in 2020, with another season of eligibility in 2021.
Pryor will vie for a starting role with 2020 juniors Houston Griffith and D.J. Brown to play opposite current freshman star Kyle Hamilton if Gilman opts to turn pro.
24 JUNIORS
During the 2019 calendar year, there were three transfers from this class —cornerback Noah Boykin (to Massachusetts), center Luke Jones (Arkansas) and safety Derrik Allen (Georgia Tech).
This still remains the largest class, although the lone full-time 2019 starter on either side of the ball was center Jarrett Patterson, a converted tackle.
Also playing significant roles were tight end Tommy Tremble, receivers Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys III, defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola, and cornerback TaRiq Bracy.
22 SOPHOMORES
The aforementioned Hamilton, defensive tackle Jacob Lacey and punter Jay Bramblett were the standouts as freshmen — and the other 19 all had a season of eligibility preserved by not playing in more than four games.
That also means that someone such as defensive end Isaiah Foskey, whose blocked punt in the second quarter of last weekend’s win at Stanford dramatically altered the game’s momentum, cannot play in the bowl because the game versus the Cardinal was his fourth appearance.
17 CURRENT VERBAL COMMITS FOR 2020
One or two more could be added prior to the early signing period from Dec. 18-20.
Four of the current pledges were among Rivals’ newly released Top 100 this week: wide receiver Jordan Johnson (No. 25), running back Chris Tyree (No. 43), offensive tackle Tosh Baker (No. 48) and tight end Michael Mayer (No. 58).
If all 11 fifth-year seniors return (unrealistic) and the numbers stay the same everywhere else (also inevitably will eventually change by next August), that adds up to 91 scholarship players so far, which is six over the NCAA scholarship limit of 85.
That has been the case the past several years as well, with the number then getting whittled down to 85 through various forms of attrition — transfer, health, turning pro early, etc. — by the start of the following August.
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