Notre Dame defeating Clemson on the field obviously has a huge impact in terms of the Fighting Irish’s quest for a national championship this season and historically speaking. It is arguably the program’s biggest win since 1993, when Lou Holtz’s squad defeated Florida State.
It’s a little bit more difficult to quantify exactly what the victory means for recruiting. Some of the impact is beneficial in the short term, but it might be more so in the future.
Notre Dame fans want to know if the Fighting Irish will be able to start flipping five-star recruits from across the country. Expectations should be tempered though, as recruits don’t react as much as fans do to one game. However, it would’ve been much more beneficial to Notre Dame if recruits were allowed in the stadium.
Prep Football Report’s Tom Lemming feels that Notre Dame’s triumph against Clemson will have the biggest impact in the 2022 recruiting class.
“It will get the attention from some of the five-star players because Notre Dame beat the No. 1 team in the country, and they proved that they have almost as much talent as Clemson,” Lemming said. “… But it’s fluid. They’re probably going to play Clemson again, and Notre Dame still has to play North Carolina. It really affects the 2022 kids more.
“When you have a great victory, it doesn’t help the current class that much, because most of it is done by now. Most of the kids know where they’re going. The 2022 kids are watching Notre Dame beat the No. 1 team in the country. I really believe it has a much bigger effect for next year’s class.
“Not having the recruits on campus hurts because those kids would’ve seen the electricity in the stadium. When you’re beating a team like Clemson, that changes a whole lot. It wasn’t a fluke game either; they proved that they can go head-to-head with the No. 1 team in the country and that means a lot to recruits.”
Lemming feels that the “big five” in college football recruiting currently consists of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU and Ohio State. Knocking on the door of that top tier, per Lemming, is Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M and USC. He added that Michigan and Penn State may take a step back due to how they’ve performed on the field in 2020.
“Talent-wise, Notre Dame is closing the gap, but they’re not there yet with the big five,” he explained. “This is the year for them to get that 2022 class going and get them locked up before they play next year.
“Notre Dame proved that they have the best offensive line in the country, an outstanding quarterback, maybe the best tight ends and one of the better running backs in the nation. Maybe in the secondary and at wide receiver they’re not as loaded, except for [safety] Kyle Hamilton.”
Lemming feels that Notre Dame doesn’t have the talent of Clemson but beat them nonetheless. This speaks to Notre Dame’s strong infrastructure and player development, which has to be enticing to recruits as well.
“Brian Kelly is a great coach,” Lemming state. “Notre Dame has the academics, graduation rates and NBC going for them. They have the tradition and facilities. They’re still putting a lot of guys in the NFL.
“This game proves that Notre Dame can stay with anybody, and that should help in the spots that they’re weaker at.”
Notre Dame has 19 verbal commitments in the 2021 class, which Rivals rans as the No. 11 group in the country. In the 2022 cycle, the Irish have three verbals.
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