Late last January the Irish offered Pennsylvania offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, and the through was Notre Dame would be a player in his recruitment until the end. That is the case, as Rucci, the 14th overall player and nationally the 5th ranked tackle by the 247Sports composite has announced he will commit on Tuesday, televised by CBS Sports HQ.
It’s time! Announcing my commitment live on @CBSSportsHQ on Tuesday⏳ @WarwickFB pic.twitter.com/njMwFKaDEn
— Nolan Rucci (@nolanrucci) September 4, 2020
Rucci will go live with his announcement at 6pm EST, but don’t expect to see Irish head coach Brian Kelly on Twitter with his #WeAreND reaction. Notre Dame has been included in his final 5, but they are on the outside looking in. At 247Sports there are 5 crystal balls, none of them favoring the Irish. The same at Rivals with their FutureCasts favoring Wisconsin, the overwhelming favorite to land the offensive tackle.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, Rucci’s older brother Hayden plays for the Badgers, while his father Todd is Penn State alumnus. Those are really the two schools that have the best chance at the younger Rucci’s commitment.
Kelly would have loved to add Rucci to the ‘21 class, as they currently have two tackles committed in Blake Fisher and Joe Alt. Fisher is a 5-Star like Rucci and Alt is considered more of a project due to his lack of experience playing tackle. When you add in the commits of guard Rocco Spindler and center Pat Coogan, it is a fantastic group even after missing out on Rucci.