Notre Dame & The Midlands
Thursday evening’s verbal commitment to Notre Dame from St. Louis, Mo., three-star running back Kyren Williams (St. John Vianney High School) comes from a region of the country the Fighting Irish seldom will emphasize.
The Midlands region is comprised mainly of what was known as “the old Big 8” with states such as Missouri (now in the SEC), Nebraska (now in the Big Ten), Colorado (now in the Pac 12), as well as Oklahoma, Iowa or even Arkansas.
It is somewhat in a lost-in-the-middle geographic region for the Fighting Irish. It is not quite in the same provincial area as the traditional Big Ten or neighboring states such as Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and in-state Indiana, nor does it have the mass big-time appeal of Texas or California.
And because Notre Dame is now affiliated with the ACC, the school is also making much more efforts and inroads in states along the Atlantic seaboard corridor, or hot spots such as Georgia and North Carolina … with Florida always remaining vital ground.
In head coach Brian Kelly’s ninth season at Notre Dame, the Irish have signed a total of four players from the Midlans region.
• The first was Littleton, Colo., athlete Danny Spond, who originally committed to the in-state Colorado Buffaloes before becoming an 11th-hour pickup in Kelly’s first class (2010), two months after he was hired. Spond played quarterback, among other positions, in high school, but became an outstanding starting outside linebacker for the 12-1 Irish in 2012 before health issues truncated his college career.
• It took four years (2014) before Notre Dame signed another player from the Midlands, current fifth-year senior Chesterfield, Mo., nose tackle Jonathan Bonner, whose uncle Dan Knott was a reserve running back at the school in the mid-1970s. Bonner started all 13 games for the Irish at defensive tackle last season and switched positions with senior Jerry Tillery this spring to better utilize the skill sets of both.
• After not signing anyone from the region in 2015 and 2016, Notre Dame inked two in consecutive years with current running back Jafar Armstrong (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) and guard/center Luke Jones (Little Rock, Ark.).
Armstrong arrived as a receiver from powerful Bishop Miege High School but after redshirting last season he made the switch to the backfield this spring because of depth issues there. He concluded the spring with a 25-yard touchdown run in the Blue-Gold Game.
A couple of other players from the Midlands had a positive early effect in Kelly’s tenure even though they were recruited by the previous staff: Kansas linebacker Brian Smith, whose father Chris Smith played at Notre Dame and in the NFL in the 1980s, and guard Trevor Robinson from Nebraska.
Among the Midland states we’ve highlighted, Missouri has produced the most volume, with Bonner the 37th resident of the state to suit up for the Irish football team.
While the number from the number is relatively high, the overall impact has been low. Our No. 1 player from the “Show Me” state is 1988-90 left guard Tim Ryan (Kansas City, Rockhurst High), who was a freshman linebacker in 1987 before he was shifted to offensive guard in the spring to help replace all five starters along the line. He became a three-year starter, highlighted by the 23-game winning streak in 1988-89 and the ’88 national title.
The most publicized recruit from Missouri who came to Notre Dame was 1982 Parade magazine Player of the Year Alvin Miller, a game-breaking receiver whose college career never took flight because of chronic injuries.
This has not been a prime areas for Notre Dame, and landing about three players over a five-year period from the Midlands might be the ceiling.
A greater interest will remain in the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, Northeast and West, but this region won’t be ignored, as displayed again with Williams.
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