Category: Notre Dame

Irish Offer Class of ’22 Speedster RB Sawchuk From Colorado

Kelly and Taylor offer another class of ’22 RB.

Late last night the news of yet another offer came out, as Brian Kelly and RB Coach Lance Taylor have offered class of 2022 RB Gavin Sawchuk of Valor Christian High School. The Colorado native already hold plenty of impressive offers including Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Penn State and Oregon, the perceived favorite.

Sawchuk is the third sophomore RB to receive an offer from the Irish, after Nicholas Singleton and Emeka Megwa, would be a welcome addition to the unit. The impressive part to the five-foot-eleven 175-pound back is his speed. Recently running in an indoor track meet, Sawchuk posted a 6.77 second time in the 60-meter dash. That impressive time caught everyone’s eyes as that is currently the fastest time by a high schooler in the nation.

For a sophomore to possess that kind of speed at an early age is elite especially if it translates over to the football field, which it does. Valor is no stranger to high level running backs, as star NFL RB Christian McCaffrey prepped there prior to heading to Stanford. Irish fans would love to see Sawchuk line up in the backfield with the game-breaking speed he possess and although early in the recruiting process, Kelly and Taylor have identified running backs that fit what the offense is looking for. Sawchuk definitely fits that mold.

Alexander At It Again, Offers CA ’22 WR McMillan

WR Coach Alexander offers another prospect in ’22 CA WR McMillan.

The ink hasn’t even dried from the fax machines from the second signing peroid, but the Irish WR Coach Del Alexander was still out looking for the best WR talent in the nation. Alexander has been busy recently, this time going across the country to offer California WR Tetairoa McMillan yesterday.

McMillan, although just a sophomore, has already received offers from LSU, USC, Oklahoma, Oregon and others, making him a very highly sought-after prospect. McMillan was named to the MaxPreps sophomore All-American Team, showing many scouts that he has the ability to perform at the next level.

His highlights show a player who would need to add some speed to his game to be a receiver that has it all, but at the current moment McMillan looks like very sturdy possession and red zone target. He will surely add weight to his six-foot-three and 185-pound frame, and if he is able to add some speed, watch out.

McMillan is surely a prospect that that Irish would love to have in their WR room and Alexander is hard at work to make it happen. The Irish recruit the west coast very well and getting a commitment from McMillan would continue their recruiting success.

No Irish assistants among the Top 50 in recruiter rankings

No Irish assistants ranked among top recruiters in the nation.

In recruiting it isn’t just about the head coach, although they are very important in the decision process, equally important are the assistant coaches the player will interact with as they will most likely see them more than the HC. Yesterday 247Sports released their top recruiting assistants and on Brian Kelly’s current staff did not place one inside the Top 50.

Although you will see an Irish assistant inside the top 15, Chip Long, but he was let go by Kelly in early December prior to their Camping World Bowl win. The first active Irish coach that makes the list is all the way down at 72, DL Coach Mike Elston makes the list. Elston was accounted for 5 commits in this class, including DT Aidan Keanaaina and DE Rylie Mills.

Special team’s coordinator Brian Polian makes the top 100 as well, checking in at 88. Polian accounted for 7 total commits, his best being LB Jordan Botelho while assisting in the recruitment of 5-Star TE Michael Mayer.

If the Irish expect to continue to recruit at the highest level, there needs to be some assistants stepping their game up on the recruiting side. The jury is still out on Tommy Rees, who was elevated to Offensive coordinator just last month, but the rest of the staff needs to pick things up on the recruiting trail.

Alexander offers class of ’22 OLB Moss from Bishop Gorman

WR Coach Alexander verbally offers OLB Moss from Las Vegas.

It’s always a good idea to get in good graces with NCAA football feeder high schools and Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman qualifies as one. WR coach Del Alexander spoke with and then offered OLB Cyrus Moss yesterday as they continue to scour the country for the top talent in the 2022 class.

Although Alexander was who offered Moss the scholarship, it will be Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Clark Lea who would work with Moss if he chooses to spend the next 3-5 years in South Bend. Moss is six-foot-five and weights 210 pounds, currently holds offers from Colorado, California, Utah, Arizona State and a few others still has a ways to go in his recruitment.

Moss is a Colorado native, so going away for school shouldn’t be an issue for the long and rangy linebacker. Brian Kelly and his staff are aware of this, as well as having Gorman Alumni such as Ronnie Stanley in their back pocket. Getting in early for Moss will be a huge key if the Irish want his commitment in the future.

What to expect from the Irish when the final class of 2020 signing period begins tomorrow

Don’t expect much news from the Irish as the 2020 recruiting cycle comes to an end.

Honestly, do not expect much from the Irish tomorrow when the final signing period begins for the 2020 recruiting cycle. At the current moment, Brian Kelly and his staff have accepted 17 commitments for the class, all of whom signed during the early period in December. Kelly also added two transfers in former Northwestern WR Ben Skowronek and Ohio State Safety Isaiah Pryor. The luster has clearly worn off the first Wednesday in February, as the majority of prospects end their recruitment by signing in the early period.

My unofficial count has the Irish at 86 current scholarship athletes, which is one over the 85 allotted by the NCAA. Hypothetically one of the commitments could gray shirt, meaning they would delay their enrollment until the second school semester before being put on scholarship and counting towards the 2021 class. The most logical player this could happen to is long snapper Alex Peitsch, as Jonathan Doerer and Jay Bramblett are already on scholarship at the position. That would get the Irish at an even 85, although there is a possibility a player could be put on a medial waiver, also getting them down to the correct scholarship number another way.

With the 2020 class pretty much being wrapped up, this has enabled Kelly and company to go out and get a step up on the 2021 class. The Irish are off to a great start in the ’21 class, eight total commits and many of them ranked extremely high by recruiting services. So, don’t expect much from the Irish tomorrow, unless a surprise commitment happens.

Irish 2021 TE commit Berrong putting in work

Notre Dame Tight End commit Cade Berrong putting in extra work this off-season.

It seems like 2021 Irish TE commit Cade Berrong is not satisfied with his Top 100 ranking, as the Georgia native keeps working on his craft. Just this weekend Berrong tweeted out a short video of him working with former Georgia WR Terrence Edwards at his academy. Although Edwards never really made it in the NFL, he was signed by the Atlanta Falcons after being undrafted and recorded just one catch, Edwards made a nice living playing in the CFL. During his 9 seasons playing in Canada, Edwards had five 1,000-yard seasons with his high being 1,372 yards with 12 touchdowns for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2010. Not a bad person to learn from, and that’s exactly what Berrong did this past weekend.

Berrong is working on making himself better, something that Irish fans and Brian Kelly are very happy to see. The six-foot-four tight end who weights 220 pounds, had offers from Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Penn State and many more prior to pledging to Notre Dame on June 21st of last year.

Berrong was also recently invited to the exclusive Future 50 camp in Orlando, Florida, showing that he is among the nation’s best prospects, not just at this position but overall. When Berrong arrives on campus in the spring of 2021, he will be next in line in the long, great history of elite Notre Dame tight ends.

Irish impress many recruits from this weekends Junior Day

Some prospects from Notre Dame’s Junior Day’s this past weekend took to social media to show their excitement.

The efforts from the Irish coaching staff’s first Junior Day paid off with a commitment from class of ’21 safety Justin Walters but he wasn’t the only prospect that left impressed. Multiple players from the recruiting classes of 2021 and 2022 were on campus for the majority of this past Saturday and some of them shared their visits via social media.

From the class of ’21 Illinois safety Benjamin Perry brought along his family and took photos with them while donning the Irish uniform. Perry does not currently have an Irish offer, but the recruitment for the six-foot-three and 186-pound player has started to heat up. Perry picked up 3 offers on the February 1st, while getting 5 total since the beginning of the year. Time will tell if Brian Kelly pulls the trigger and offers Perry.

Blake Fisher, in-state tackle commit in the 2021 class, seemed to very much enjoy the time he was able to spend with Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn. Fisher is a national top 100 players, one of the best in the country and getting him to stay home was a huge recruiting win for the Irish.

Georgia safety Cole Bishop arrived at South Bend without an offer, and unfortunately left without an offer as well. It did seem like Bishop did enjoy his visit however, as the six-foot-three and 200-pounder tagged Defensive coordinator Clark Lea, Aaryn Kearney, the Director of recruiting and Graduate assistant Nick Lezynski.

Class of ’22 Wisconsin athlete Braelon Allen, who holds a Notre Dame offer, looked very excited taking a picture with the Irish uniform on and taking a snap with Defensive pass game coordinator. The uniform suits the six-foot-one and 200-pound projected safety and early on it seems like this will be a battle with the Big Ten as Iowa and home state school Wisconsin are after Allen early as well.

The Irish seemed to have impressed plenty of prospects on their visit this past weekend. Brian Kelly already has a Top 5 class for the 2021 recruiting cycle at the moment, and with Walters pledge this weekend, there are a total of 8 commits. Never is there a 100% close rate when it comes to Junior Day visits, but the inroads Kelly and his staff made are sure to pay off when decisions are made.

ESPN predicts Notre Dame’s biggest question heading into 2020 season

Tom HanHaaren makes a guess at what is Notre Dame’s biggest question heading into the 2020 campaign.

As the NFL season concluded last night, the NCAA season is always full of intrigue, and with that ESPN’s staff came up with their biggest question surrounding their projected Top 25. Tom VanHaaren tackled the Irish’s biggest issue heading into the 2020 season, the offensive skill positions. Brian Kelly returns all 5 of his offensive line starters, along with quarterback Ian Book, but the Irish have lost every skill position starter from last year.

VanHaaren notes that “Notre Dame’s leading rusher and top three receivers are all gone. Running back Tony Jones Jr., Chase Claypool, Cole Kmet, and Chris Finke provided a big portion of the Irish offense last season, so who steps up in their place this coming season?”

He also mentions that the quarterback room is stable with the return of Book and after former 5-Star QB recruit Phil Jurkovec transferred out of the program to Boston College. The depth at the position is thin after Book, with redshirt freshman Brendon Clark as his presumed back-up, having just 2 passing attempts in his freshman year. Incoming freshman Drew Pyne will arrive on campus for fall camp, but don’t expect him to see much time on the field this year.

As for the skill position players, look for Jahmir Smith and Jafar Armstrong to battle it out in hopes replacing the departed RB Tony Jones Jr. Looking at the wide receivers, Senior Javon McKinley and Sophomore Braden Lenzy lead the returning group with Northwestern transfer Bennett Skowronek most likely in the mix as well. The graduate transfer was injured for most of last year for the Wildcats but brings experience and size with his six-foot-four frame which is much needed.

The Tight End group features almost no experience on the depth chart, Tommy Tremble leading the way with just 16 receptions although 4 of them resulted in TD’s.  The door is wide open for newly minted 5-Star TE Michael Mayer to come in and make a splash early. Do you agree with VanHaaren’s biggest question surrounding Brian Kelly and the Irish have for next year?

Super Sunday Commitment, S Walters commits to the Irish after visiting this weekend

Irish cash in first Junior Day of year with a commitment from S Walters.

The first Junior Day for the Irish was a huge success, finishing it off with a commitment from Illinois S Justin Walters tonight. Walters was among a large group of prospects in South Bend yesterday and the Bolingbrook High School star had intentions to wait until committing, but he just couldn’t say no to Brian Kelly.

Walters really clicked with Defensive back coach Terry Joseph and Defensive coordinator Clark Lea, as he told 247Sports, and along with the fact that a Notre Dame education is top notch, Walters couldn’t say no to a great mix on and off the field.

Walters highlight tape show a Safety who loves to get physical and play in the box. He checks in at six-foot-two and 175 pounds, if he is able to add weight, there is a possibility he could become an outside linebacker with that speed and hitting ability.

Walters commitment brings the 2021 total to 8 commits, and many of the commitments are though of very highly among the recruiting community. Although it is early, the start that Brian Kelly and his staff have in the ’21 class is more than impressive.

Notre Dame projected to be featured on ESPN’s GameDay 3 times in 2020 Season

Brad Crawford projects ESPN’s College GameDay locations for the 2020 season and has them seeing Notre Dame multiple times.

ESPN has already announced where their first edition of College GameDay will be next year, they will travel with Notre Dame and Army to Dublin, Ireland for their August 29th, 2020 contest in Aviva Stadium. This will be GameDay’s first ever broadcast outside of the United States. The Irish have a long history of playing games outside the country, dating back to October of 1954 when they played Eastern New Mexico in Canada, with games against Miami in Japan in 1979, and this coming season will mark the 3rd time the Irish have played in Dublin.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports predicted where College GameDay would make their other stops for next year, and Irish fans will be happy to see Crawford predicting at least two more contests where ESPN’s pregame show will be present.

Crawford projects the second visit for GameDay to see the Irish in their week 5 matchup against Wisconsin at historic Lambeau Field. This game makes plenty of sense for GameDay to attend, a potential top 10 matchup in an NFL stadium. The only other game I see that has a possibility for GameDay to attend is Baylor visiting Oklahoma, but Edwards projects them visiting Oklahoma the week after, so Wisconsin against the Irish makes the most sense.

The third potential trip for GameDay featuring the Irish would be the contest against Clemson in South Bend in week 10. This game is a toss-up with the Alabama vs LSU contest, but it remains to be seen how this year’s champions will recover from the mass exodus of talent to the NFL including presumed #1 overall pick QB Joe Burrow. If both Notre Dame and Clemson are undefeated, it will be an easy choice, but if all four teams are unscathed that late into the season, GameDay will have a major choice on their hands.

The Irish have a schedule that sets them up for a potential run at a College Football Playoff spot and having marquee games on the schedule, as long as they win them, will be important to getting a top 4 ranking to qualify for a chance to compete for a National Championship.