Where Does Notre Dame’s Recruiting Class Rank Vs. The ACC?
Notre Dame opens its 2020 football season against Duke this Saturday, and the Atlantic Coast Conference logo is already painted down on the 25-yard line.
The Irish were picked to finish second in the ACC by the media, and additionally, senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and senior guard Aaron Banks were named to the preseason all-conference team. It’s new to see Notre Dame in these types of preseason polls and lists as a part of a conference.
After each new commitment, we write a story about where Notre Dame stands in the national recruiting rankings, but how about taking a look at where the Irish rank amongst its counterparts in the ACC?
Nationally, Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class ranks No. 11 with its 18 commitments. The two teams directly ahead of the Irish are Miami and Clemson at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.
The Hurricanes and Tigers also sit at the top of the ACC team recruiting rankings with North Carolina at No. 3. Plugging Notre Dame into the conference rankings would put the Irish right above the Tar Heels, pushing Mack Brown’s squad down to No. 4.
Miami has 22 commitments in its 2021 class, which includes one five-star prospect (defensive back James Williams) and 10 four-star players. Only two of Miami’s commitments hail from outside the state of Florida.
Clemson has just 15 verbal pledges in the 2021 cycle with a higher average star ranking per recruit (3.8) compared to Miami (3.5). Notre Dame has an average star ranking of 3.38. Clemson does not have a five-star commit – whereas Notre Dame has offensive tackle Blake Fisher ranked in that category – but has 12 four-star verbals, compared to the Irish’s five.
The Rivals.com ranking formula (click here for more details) decides the class ranking standings, and Miami leads the way in the ACC with 2,154, followed by Clemson’s 2,092. Notre Dame has accumulated 1,994 points.
North Carolina has the nation’s No. 15 class, 10 four-star commitments and 1,755 total points. With an average star ranking per recruit of 3.56 and 16 total commits, the Tar Heels have a clear opportunity to improve their standing.
What about Notre Dame’s 2020 recruiting class? The Irish only took 17 prospects in that cycle, which really hurt their class ranking (Rivals takes into account a school’s top 20 recruits for its ranking). The Irish finished No. 22 nationally and for the sake of this article placed No. 5 behind Clemson, Miami, North Carolina and Florida State, respectively.
Of course, those schools all took at least 21 recruits. If Notre Dame would have added three more prospects with a recruit ranking of 5.5 to get to 20 signees, then the Irish would’ve finished No. 3 in the ACC and just 36 points behind Miami at No. 2.
Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class won’t be as small as its 2020 group and should finish in the No. 10 to No. 15 range that Fighting Irish fans are accustomed to.
These rankings certainly give a gauge what level certain schools are recruiting at, but it’s also used for fan debate and discussion, hence the purpose of this article.
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