Category: Notre Dame

Notre Dame continues to face Big Ten foes, heads to Northwestern tonight

The Irish close out their non-conference regular season in Evanston

The Irish have faced off against multiple Big Ten teams this spring, which has included games against Michigan State (three times), Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The Irish’s next B1G opponent, Northwestern, were supposed to square-off in March in South Bend but a myriad of issues prevented that game from happening.

This game will have a different location, Evanston, Illinois, as the #8 Irish enter the contest with a 31-11 record, their opponent Wildcats are a few games under .500 at 22-25.

If the stats go right, the Irish should get yet another road victory. Under head coach [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag], Notre Dame has a .711 (32-13) winning percentage on the road. Their pitching staff as a whole has been phenomenal all season, ranked currently at the 14th best ERA in the country, allowing just 3.76 runs per game.

This is the start of the last road trip for the Irish, as they will finish the regular season in Coral Gables, Florida as they are set to square off in their last ACC series. At the current moment, Jarrett’s team hold a slim .5 game lead over Louisville for the Atlantic division lead.

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Report: Notre Dame in great position to land 5-Star quarterback Moore

Great news

A key piece to the 2023 recruiting puzzle is going to be at quarterback, and the Irish have their eyes on one of the best prospects in the country in Michigan’s [autotag]Dante Moore[/autotag]. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] has pulled out all the stops for the highly regarded prospect and it seems like it has been working.

According to a report from 247Sports Tom Loy, the Irish are “going to be tough to beat, which has been the case for a while.” This is fantastic news as the six-foot-two-inch and 195-pound star. Not only does it currently look like the Irish would beat out Michigan for Moore commitment, but also LSU and former Irish head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag].

Loy does finish off the report by saying that Moore does plan on returning to South Bend but a date is not set currently. Another visit could be the finishing touches to Moore recruitment and a potential Irish verbal before he leaves to head back home.

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Notre Dame makes final three for California star receiver with decision looming

Who will he choose in early July

The good news for Notre Dame recruiting is flowing, this time however it’s on the offensive side of the ball. Of the twelve current commitments, head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman’s[/autotag] efforts have been heavy on defense and that could be changing soon.

Just today, California four-star receiver [autotag]Rico Flores[/autotag] announced his final three schools and his commitment date. Flores will choose from Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame in a little less than two months, on July 3rd. One of these lucky schools could be celebrating with fireworks the next day, and for Freeman, the hope is that it will be the Irish.

Flores trimmed his list from five to three, as he eliminated UCLA and Texas with his final cut. The Irish will also have the last visit before Flores makes his choice, as he will be in South Bend starting June 10th, while he has already visited Ohio State and Georgia previously.

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ESPN believes that Notre Dame has a shot with one of nations best ‘23 recruits

The Irish need to knock this official out of the park

The Irish have yet to slow down with their 2023 recruiting, according to ESPN they currently have the most ESPN 300 commits along with Georgia, Ohio State and Louisville. The group of twelve commits ranks first in their team rankings, meaning it’s not just quantity for the Irish, that quality is there as well.

Marcus Freeman has done a fantastic job in his first full recruiting cycle, one that could set the standard for his tenure in South Bend. Of the twelve there are currently two safeties committed, Texas’ [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] paired with New Jersey’s [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag], and according to ESPN (insider), the Irish could be getting another impressive prospect to join them, Georgia’s [autotag]Caleb Downs[/autotag].

In an breakdown of the top remaining uncommitted prospects at each position, Tom VanHaaren postulates that Downs four schools that he has planned visits to, “it’s possible his decision will come from one of those four.” Along with a visit to South Bend, Downs has scheduled trips to Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State.

The Irish have done very well recently recruiting the Peach State and if they could land Downs, that would be another massive recruiting win in SEC country and one that [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] could use in the future.

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Notre Dame’s most recent commit already putting on recruiting hat

He’s looking for the “missing piece”

At first glance with four defensive line commits, it would leave you to believe that the Irish are finished recruiting the position in the current cycle. That might not be the case, as newest Notre Dame 2023 commit Devan Houstan is actively recruiting another east coast player to join him, Brenan Vernon, Keon Keeley, and Boubacar Traore.

The apple of Houstan’s eye is DeMatha Catholic lineman Jason Moore. The six-foot-six-inch and 255-pound Maryland native boasts an impressive offer list which includes Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, USC, Oklahoma and others. Moore clearly one of the best players at his position in the country and the Irish would love to add him to the current committed class.

Houstan calls Moore “the missing piece” to what would be an absolute monster haul along the line. The age old adage that games are won in the trenches still applies and adding Moore would give Marcus Freeman another weapon to rush quarterbacks.

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Ohio State’s latest quarterback commit should help Notre Dame’s cause

This commit could help the Irish

The Buckeyes grabbed an important commit to start off their 2024 recruiting class last night, Arizona quarterback Dylan Raiola. The name might sound familiar, his father, Dominic, was an All-American center at Nebraska, who won the Remington Trophy, before a very good career in the NFL.

How does Raiola’s commitment help the Irish? Ohio State now has assembled a very impressive quarterback room, with current starter CJ Stroud and his backups Devin Brown and Kyle McCord. Although Stroud won’t be around when Raiola arrives in Columbus, it should make a significant impact with their 2023 quarterback search. Their backups are all highly thought of and for a true freshman to crack the starting lineup would prove difficult. Raiola might even push them not to take a 2023 quarterback, which they currently do not have one committed.

This is where the Irish can capitalize on Raiola’s verbal, by showing the depth chart and opportunity to Michigan star Dante Moore. Tyler Buchner will be a junior by the time Moore would arrive and Steve Angeli would most likely be an unproven commodity at that point. If Drew Pyne can’t win the job this fall, I would doubt that he sticks around much longer.

The path to playing time in South Bend should be seen as much easier, sitting a year before what looks like a battle with Angeli would commence. If Moore wants to see the field as soon as possible, South Bend might be his best option.

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Pro Football Focus names Notre Dame’s Joseph as a Top-5 safety

The Irish found a good one in the transfer portal

When former Northwestern star safety Brandon Joseph entered the transfer portal the Irish were immediately connected. The similarities between the schools made it a great match, academics, high-level football and of course, the opportunity to play at the next level.

Joseph eventually connected the dots, landed in South Bend and showed during the Blue vs. Gold game why he was previously selected to All-American teams. With Kyle Hamilton leaving to the NFL, the Irish needed to find his replacement and Marcus Freeman hit a home run with the addition of Joseph. Many, including Pro Football Focus, believe that Joseph is a top-5 player at his position, and they recently ranked him as the third best safety prospect in the country.

The only non-SEC player on this list, Joseph has big shoes to fill, but the talent to do so. Although he is most likely just going to play one season for the Irish, it should be an impactful one.

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Washington 2023 cornerback latest to receive Notre Dame offer

The latest Irish offer is out west

Recruiting never stops. Seriously, it does not and for Marcus Freeman and the Irish, they have already done a phenomenal job in the new head coach’s first full recruiting cycle. At the current moment the group of twelve commits ranks as one of the best, if not the best, collection of recruits in the country.

Freeman and his staff aren’t stopping now, as evident by their latest offer out to Washington defensive back Jasiah Wagoner, a six-foot and 170-pound cornerback. Already committed to the All-American Bowl in January, the defender now can add a Notre Dame offer to his growing impressive list.

Wagoner, already held offers from Texas, Oregon, Penn State and other prior to the Irish making the call. Although the current Notre Dame ‘23 class is heavy on defenders, there is not one player committed at Wagoner’s position.

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Notre Dame 2024 defensive line target sends Mother’s Day message with Irish twist

Happy Mother’s Day!

The Irish have been absolutely crushing recruiting, not just in the 2023 cycle but also in the 2024 group as well. Recently the offered Illinois defensive tackle Justin Scott a scholarship and that peaked his interested with Notre Dame.

For many prospects spending out a Mothers Day message is special, it’s a chance for them to thank one of their biggest supporters and fans of their academic and athletic achievements. Scott not only Tweeted out a message to this mother, he did so with a Notre Dame banner behind them. It could have just been the latest photo that Scott had taken with his mother or it might be a sign of things to come for the six-foot-five-inch and 300-pound lineman.

Scott, although just a sophomore, has a host of impressive offers aside from the Irish that include Michigan, USC, Tennessee, Wisconsin and others. Although we should not read too much into this post, it is something to watch for as Marcus Freeman’s relationship with Scott continues to grow.

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Notre Dame adds another east coast defensive lineman with their newest commitment

Traore knew it!!!

When Boubacar Traore tweeted at fellow east coast star defensive lineman Devan Houstan earlier in the week, we kind of saw the writing on the wall that they could become teammates shortly. Well, that was exactly the case as Houstan has just verbally committed to the Irish on CBS Sports HQ.

The six-foot-four-inch and 270-pound lineman selected the Irish over Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and Northwestern making him the twelfth  commitment for Marcus Freeman in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Houstan becomes the fourth defensive lineman in the class joining Keon Keeley, Brenan Vernon and Traore. You would to believe that Freeman has gotten the four players he was looking to add to the class.

At the current moment, the Irish have one of the top, if not the top, recruiting class of the 2023 cycle with plenty of room to add on other high quality players. They might be doing that as soon as next Friday, as offensive lineman Sullivan Absher is set to make his verbal commitment as well. This ‘23 class just continues to get better and better with each commitment.

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