When looking at Notre Dame’s class on the offensive side of the ball on National Signing Day, the attention from the fan base is on the receiver position — and rightfully so.
The Fighting Irish came into the week with three All-American wide receivers committed, and before 10:30 a.m. ET on National Signing Day, Notre Dame was down to one.
The numbers discussion for Notre Dame’s wide receiver room is alarming and is worth discussing, but that shouldn’t discount the other talented players the Irish brought in.
The one receiver Notre Dame did sign — Vancouver (Wash.) Union’s Tobias Merriweather, the nation’s No. 25 wideout and No. 167 overall player per Rivals — is an impressive one. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is excited about the 6-4, 180-pounder.
“Size and speed,” Rees said about Merriweather’s top attributes. “You watch his film, and he's not just as one-trick pony as sometimes long guys are. You see him return kicks, change direction, get in and out of breaks. He’s somebody we're extremely excited about and have extremely high hopes for moving forward.
“Given his length, maturity and ability to run, he’s a guy who you can put outside and expect to slowly make an impact here early in his career.”
West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley tight end Eli Raridon committed to Notre Dame as a three-star prospect, and after more talent evaluators scouted the 6-6, 220-pounder and saw him in person, he shot up the rankings on various websites. Rivals lists Raridon as the nation’s No. 5 tight end and No. 178 overall prospect.
When Notre Dame offered Raridon a scholarship Feb. 9, he had plenty of other Power Five offers, but none to the extent that he probably would’ve had if it weren’t for a recruiting dead period, which doesn’t allow for college coaches to see recruits face-to-face.
“Covid probably did us a favor in that one; people couldn’t see him live,” Rees said with a grin. “The difference-maker for him was when we turned on his basketball film a year ago. His athleticism — pun intended — jumps out of the room. He’s someone who you see in-person for the first time and see his length — the sky is the limit for him.
“We’re extremely excited about him, and he was under-recruited for a lot of reasons. As of late, he’s gotten the notoriety that he deserves.”
Notre Dame also signed Atlanta Westminster’s Holden Staes, a tight end recruit who held offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan and was a one-time Penn State commit.
“You compare him and Holden in the same class, and you’re looking at a very elite group,” Rees said. “It’s something that’s been a strength of ours, and with those two coming in, that will continue to be a strength for us.”
Another traditional strength for Notre Dame recruiting is on the offensive line. The Irish inked five blockers on Wednesday, all of whom will be playing in one of the two major postseason all-star games.
Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High’s Ashton Craig, Zionsville (Ind.) High’s Joey Tanona and Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary’s Springs’ Billy Schrauth project on the interior of the Irish offensive line, while Lawrence (Mass.) Academy’s Ty Chan and Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne’s Aamil Wagner look like tackles of the future for the Irish.
Rees added that he’d put his offensive line group (and tight ends) against any other in the country.
“As a staff, we did a great job of closing that class out,” he said about the offensive line. “A month or so ago, you were looking three [commits], and now you’re at five with a really elite group.”
The quarterback of the class is Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic’s Steve Angeli, an Under Armour All-American who also held offers from the likes of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State before picking the Irish earlier this year. Angeli was Rees’ first quarterback offer of the 2022 cycle.
“The first thing that jumped out was the intangibles,” Rees said of Angeli. “When you sit down and have a conversation with the kid, you see that he’s exactly what you want in somebody that’s going to represent your program from the very top.
“You see a guy who can make all of the throws and has enough athleticism to get outside of the pocket ... We’re excited as heck to have Steve coming here. He will hit the ground running.”
Rees was not asked about Denison (Texas) High running back and Notre Dame signee Jadarian Price, but you can be assured that he’s excited about him, too. Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor certainly is.
“Excited to add the RBeast from the great state of Texas!” Taylor tweeted about Price. “The best RB group in the country just got better.”
Notre Dame signed 21 recruits on National Signing Day, 15 of whom are four-star prospects and five ranked as three-star prospects. The one two-star was punter Bryce McFerson, but Chris Sailer Kicking ranks him as the No. 2 punter in America.
The class currently sits at No. 7 in the country, directly ahead of Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, as of late Wednesday afternoon.
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