If you’ve been paying attention to Notre Dame recruiting class for 2024 then you’re plenty aware that some familiar last names are apart of it. The class features the sons of two Pro Football Hall of Famers (Brian Urlacher and Bryant Young) while the 2025 class could possibly see another (Jerome Bettis).
Urlacher was recently asked by the Max Preps staff to give a scouting report on his son Kennedy plays safety in Arizona. If you haven’t seen any highlights of the younger Urlacher playing, you’ll certainly at least enjoy what his old man had to say about what he brings to the table:
Plays down hill, does so fast, and REALLY likes the physicality. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those commitments we look back on and say “how the heck was he a three-star?” in a few years.
Reviewing Notre Dame’s hot surge on the recruiting trail, where Dylan Raiola is now trending and how Texas is trying to catch up in the 2024 cycle.
USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.
Last week we opened Friday Night Notes with a list of five college programs that stood out in the recruiting game. Michigan was on top, with honorable mentions for LSU, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Notre Dame. One of them stood head and shoulders above the competition this week, though.
Specifically, the Fighting Irish have dominated the 2024 recruiting cycle over the last eight days by picking up the following four recruits.
First, Notre Dame won out over 15 other schools for Canion’s commitment. According to the composite rankings, he’s currently No. 29 at his position and No. 28 overall in the ultra-competitive state of Georgia.
Charlotte Christian (NC) 4-star EDGE Bryce Young (April 29)
Chandler (Ariz.): 3-star S Kennedy Urlacher (May 1)
On Monday, Notre Dame added even more namepower, picking up a commitment from Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher’s son Kennedy. He turned down offers from 19 other schools.
Charlotte Christian (NC): 4-star WR Micah Gilbert (May 2)
Last but not least, they added another four-star receiver on Tuesday with Young’s teammate Gilbert, who’s the fifth-ranked player in North Carolina. He says his choice was about the pedigree:
“Notre Dame has that pedigree… I love what they have done in the past. They have a great reputation on and off the field, and the visit pushed them over the top. Everywhere I went, I had my list of requirements. And Notre Dame had everything I was looking for…”
Thanks to this influx of talent, the Fighting Irish class of 2024 has risen to No. 4 in the national rankings.
That makes three wide receivers and 14 hard commits total for Notre Dame’s class of 2024, which ranks fourth in the nation.
It’s turning out to be a luck of the Irish kind of a week, as Notre Dame football has gotten two significant commitments over the last few days.
On Monday, Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher’s son, Chandler (Ariz.) three-star safey Kennedy Urlacher announced his commitment to Notre Dame. Yesterday, the Fighting Irish added another notable member to their class of 2024.
Here’s how Charlotte Christian (NC) four-star wide receiver Micah Gilbert announced that he was joining the club.
Gilbert (6-foot-3, 203 pounds) had offers from 20 other schools, including Charlotte, Duke, ECU, Wake Forest, North Carolina and South Carolina. He told Chad Simmons at On3 Notre Dame had everything he was looking for.
“Notre Dame has that pedigree… I love what they have done in the past. They have a great reputation on and off the field, and the visit pushed them over the top. Everywhere I went, I had my list of requirements. And Notre Dame had everything I was looking for.”
Going by the 247Sports rankings, Gilbert is No. 30 among wide receivers in his class, No. 5 overall in the state of North Carolina and No. 199 nationally.
That makes three wide receivers and 14 hard commits total for Notre Dame’s recruiting class of 2024, which ranks fourth in the nation.
Quite the recruiting run in recent days has the Irish climbing
We’ve been tracking the college football team recruiting rankings periodically this off-season as the 2024 recruiting classes are really taking shape following spring football. Notre Dame had been as high as second in the rankings before a dry spell had them outside the top-five in recent weeks.
Now with the recent additions of [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag], [autotag]Kennedy Urlacher[/autotag], and [autotag]Micah Gilbert[/autotag] in the last few days, the Irish are back near the top.
Gilbert became Notre Dame’s 14th commitment in the 2024 class on Tuesday when he announced his decision. Not a bad run seeing as just 11 days ago the Irish had nine official commitments.
Where do the Irish now rank compared to the rest of college football?
Here is an updated look at the national top 35 following Notre Dame’s recent run.
Urlacher (6-foot-0, 190 pounds) also had offers from 19 other programs, including Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Stanford and Washington. He told Hayes Fawcett at On3 that education and relationships were a big factor.
“The one thing that ultimately stood out to me about ND was the education and network that there is over there, another thing that helped was the relationships I have built with the coaching staff over there…. I’m probably closest with coach Bowden… He’s great because he’s straight up and genuine, and very high strung. The plan coach Golden and Coach O’Leary have for me is to be an impact player at safety when my time comes.”
Going by the composite rankings, Urlacher is No. 57 among safeties in his class and No. 13 overall in the state of Arizona.
Urlacher makes 13 hard commits for Notre Dame’s class of 2024, which ranks No. 5 in the nation.
Notre Dame recruiting has been as hot as two rats…you know what, let’s pass on making an analogy about how hot the Irish have been on the recruiting trail. Instead, just know that they’ve been red-hot and continue to be.
The latest commitment came from three-star safety [autotag]Kennedy Urlacher[/autotag] out of Chandler, Ariz. Urlacher chose the Irish over Miami, Penn State, TCU, Illinois, and Kansas State.
As always is the case, college football fans took to Twitter to react to the news of the commitment. It just so happens that a good amount of these fans are either Chicago Bears fans or NFL fans because their reactions were largely what you would expect many of them to be.
The son of Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Young, Bryce committed to the Irish on Monday evening, keeping head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] at the spearhead of another recruiting charge.
Urlacher is a bit smaller than his father. He is 6-feet and 190 pounds and is the 57th-best safety and 607th overall prospect on the 247Sports composite.
The younger Urlacher becomes the 13th commit for the Irish in the 2024 cycle, which has Notre Dame rising once again in the class rankings. The group is rated fifth overall in 247Sports team rankings.
Will it be another son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer soon heading to South Bend?
Over the weekend Notre Dame added a commitment from the son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame member when [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag], the son of Notre Dame and San Francisco 49ers great [autotag]Bryant Young[/autotag], committed to the Irish.
Two days later [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and company could add another commitment from … well, the son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame member.
[autotag]Urlacher[/autotag], a 6-foot-1 safety out of Chandler, Arizona, is set to announce his college choice at 6 p.m. ET Monday night. Notre Dame is one of six finalists for the talented safety and, yes, the son of the Chicago Bears linebacking great.
[autotag]Urlacher[/autotag] recently told Irish Breakdown of Notre Dame:
“Notre Dame brings a great education. I have built really good relationships with the coaches as well. My family and I had a great time on campus a couple of weeks ago.”
Urlacher is a three-star prospect by all of the major recruiting outlets, and he has been heavily pursued by the Notre Dame staff for some time. He was recently on Notre Dame’s campus for the spring game.
We’re a long way from 2024 safety Kennedy Urlacher making his college decision but as it sits right now Notre Dame has to at least like their standing. The Chandler, Arizona product is set to make his first visit South Bend this weekend.
Urlacher, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, clearly thinks highly of Notre Dame. He recently told Irish Breakdown:
“I expect Notre Dame to be one of my top schools for sure, and I’m excited to see all the coaches and facilities, I think I fit well into the Notre Dame program and that the relationships I’ve made with coaches over there have been great so far.”
Urlacher is listed at 6-1, 180-pounds. He also told Irish Breakdown that he’s made visits already to Kansas, Kansas State, and Miami and that he also plans on visiting TCU. He is listed as having 19 offers on 247Sports and is ranked as a three-star prospect.
Kennedy is a three-star safety who has managed to garner 16 offers already.
Kennedy Urlacher has an official visit set for Notre Dame this offseason, according to a report by Adam Gorney at Rivals.
Urlacher is the son of former Chicago Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher.
As for Kennedy (6-foot-0, 185 pounds), he plays safety at Chandler (Ariz.), where he’s a three-star Junior who has managed to garner 16 offers already.
According to On3, that list includes Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado State, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, Nebraska, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Penn State, Washington, Wisconsin and UNLV. Urlacher is apparently enjoying all the attention, telling Drew Schott at On3 that it’s “exciting to feel wanted.”
As you might expect if you watched his father’s career, Urlacher is billed as a physical defender and sure tackler. Rivals ranks him No. 27 at his position and No. 10 overall in Arizona. He has no national ranking as of yet.
