Missing out on Will Shipley hurts now, but the Irish do have plenty of other potential running backs they’ve continued to recruit.
At one point in time during North Carolina star Will Shipley’s recruitment Notre Dame was the perceived leader, but then the country shut down amidst the COVID-19 epidemic and the NCAA mandated dead period occurred. With many recruits including Shipley not being able to visit schools they were scheduled to during the summer has made this recruiting cycle one of the oddest ever. This enabled Clemson to really put the full court press on Shipley and gain a commitment from him today.
This is a tough blow for Brian Kelly as Shipley was seen as a Christian McCaffrey clone, a prospect any program would be happy to see don their colors. Kelly knew he couldn’t put all his eggs in one basket, as they have offered six other true running backs aside from Shipley in this class. Three of them have committed, so let’s eliminate TreVeyon Henderson and Lovasea Carroll along with Shipley from the big board. Texas’ Camar Wheaton hold’s an offer from Notre Dame and is viewed as one of the best in the country, but this one will be an uphill battle. Wheaton has local powers Texas and Oklahoma after him along with LSU, Alabama and SMU. If Notre Dame wants to really get involved in Wheaton’s recruitment, the staff needs to step up immediately.
Michigan’s Donovan Edwards is the highest rated local remaining running back with an offer and although he hasn’t released a top list yet, it’s perceived that instate schools Michigan and Michigan State along with Georgia are his top schools. Yes, Edwards seems to have made a connection with Irish commit Blake Fisher, but so did Shipley and look how that turned out.
Ohio back Corey Kiner has pushed his recruitment forward, but it doesn’t seem like the Irish have much of a shot in his recruitment at the moment. Although the Irish have offered him, Kiner isn’t high on the program, as it seems like Cincinnati, Louisville and Michigan have the leg up in his recruitment. He is set to commit on Independence Day, so if Kelly wants a commit from the Ohio back, they’ll have to really up their effort in recruiting Kiner.
The Sunshine State’s Prophet Brown is perhaps the most likely future Notre Dame player on this list. The only problem with that is Brown is being recruited by Notre Dame as a corner and not running back. Could that change after missing out on Shipley? Either way, look for Brian Polian and Mike Mickens to ramp up their pursuit of Brown, as the clear need for running back and corner in the 2021 recruiting class is obvious for Notre Dame.
The Irish are in need of talent in the backfield and losing out on a commitment from Shipley hurts in the short term. Who the staff turns to now is the biggest question mark, but plenty of talented backs are still in play for the Irish. Notre Dame will bounce back, the pain of losing Shipley will linger, but if Kelly can reel in another big fish, it might not matter in the long run.
