Notre Dame has two commitments selected in ESPN’s fantasy ‘23 recruit draft

It’s a great pair they selected

Call me a sucker for a good fantasy draft, I just love them. Doesn’t matter the sport, it’s just fun fodder to look at and ESPN took a stab at one today that I have yet to see before. Each of their recruiting analysts, Craig Haubert and Tom Luginbill, selected a starting lineup of 2023 recruits (insider), minus specialists.

It was a very interesting exercise, as they didn’t just select the top 44 overall recruits, they each had a strategy behind their selections which saw two Notre Dame verbal commitments selected. Find out below which pair of recruits got picked along short explanation of why there were picked.

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Major recruiting services impressed with Notre Dame’s ‘22 class so far

Early on in the 2022 recruiting cycle, the Notre Dame class has impressed some of the national services.

It is just technically a month into the 2022 recruiting cycle but many schools have already been hard at work trying to secure a top class. Notre Dame is one of those, as the Irish have gotten off to a very fast start with seven commits so far.

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Since the page has turned to the 2022’s, some of the major outlets have been looking at who has gotten out of the gates quickly and secured high-level commits.

Over at ESPN, Craig Haubert looked at a group of 10 schools who have had the most success in the class, with the Irish checking in at number 8 (insider). Of the seven committed player, five of them rank inside ESPN’s top 300.

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Haubert is impressed with the early offensive line commits in Joey Tanona and Ty Chan and who they’ll eventually be blocking for in running back Jadarian Price. He also highlighted defensive end Tyson Ford, who Haubert said has a “nice initial burts as well as good agility.”

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They weren’t the only ones giving Brian Kelly and his staff praise for their early recruiting success, 247Sports did as well. Interestingly, they also have the Irish’s class ranked as the 8th best early on. Also, Brian Dohn pretty much singled out the same players, with the exception of Price.

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They like the balance of the commits early on, as the Irish have checked off some early boxes along the offense and defensive lines, running back, defensive back and receiver.

Right now, Notre Dame is in great position to continue to add onto what is a very solid start. The next few months will be very important for the Irish on the recruiting trail, as they look to keep the early momentum going.

Florida Gators football No. 7 in latest ESPN 2021 recruiting rankings

Representing a drop of two spots, the Florida Gators, owners of 11 ESPN 300 pledges, slotted in at No. 7 in the nation for the 2021 class.

Compiled by staff writer Craig Haubert, ESPN released their updated 2021 football recruiting rankings on Friday, September 11 (subscription required).

Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, who possesses 16 ESPN 300 commits, held steady at No. 1, followed by Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee Volunteers to complete the top-three.

Representing a drop of two spots, the Florida Gators, owners of 11 ESPN 300 pledges, slotted in at No. 7.

Both earning grades of 86 from the publication, Miami cornerback Jason Marshall, Jr. and Loganville, Georgia pro-style quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson are Florida’s highest-rated commits.

Safety Corey Collier, Marshall’s teammate at Miami Palmetto, Fort Lauderdale defensive end Tyreak Sapp, and Powder Springs, Georgia outside linebacker Chief Borders are not far behind, all garnering grades of 84.

247Sports also pegs the Gators’ collection of prospects as the seventh-best nationally, one of the rare occasions where the two services’ rankings align.

Occupying the three spots after Florida, Manny Diaz’ Miami Hurricanes, Mack Brown’s North Carolina Tar Heels, and Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs rounded out ESPN’s top-10.

Showcasing why the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is considered the pinnacle of college football, the league had 11 of the 39 schools included in the network’s rankings, including eight in the top-25.

Other notables from ESPN include Tom Herman’s Texas Longhorns at No. 13, Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines at No. 14, Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma Sooners at No. 15, Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin Badgers at No. 17, and Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles at No. 20.

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