Tag: ND Football Recruiting

Notre Dame football 2022 defensive recruit wishlist

A look at which defensive players with Notre Dame offer that would be great additions to the 2022 recruiting class.

A few weeks ago, I took a look at which Notre Dame recruits on offense who currently held offers and could potentially join the growing 2022 class. Realistically, some of them could join, some of them might end up elsewhere, but one can wish right? We’ll, it’s time for the other side of the ball, my ’22 defense recruit wishlist for the Irish.

Marcus Freeman behind latest Notre Dame 2022 defensive offer

Notre Dame’s new defensive coordinator is already out on the recruiting trail making waves with the Irish’s latest offer to Jaylen Sneed.

After Notre Dame secured their first commit of new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman’s watch in defensive end Tyson Ford, there is still more work to be done. Freeman was tagged on Twitter with their latest defensive offer, going out to South Carolina’s outside linebacker Jaylen Sneed.

Sneed is one of the best OLB’s in the country, ranked by the 247Sports composite as the 78th overall prospect and 5th at his position. He already possess a college-ready body at six-foot-two-inches and 215-pounds and is an absolute terror for opposing offenses.

The linebacker shows great versatility, during Sneed’s past high school season, he mainly lined up as a defensive end, showing he can rush the passer. Obviously, he is undersized at the position but shows traits of an elite outside linebacker at the next level.

The current offer list for Sneed is basically a who’s-who of college football elite, as he has an Alabama, Oklahoma, and USC offer’s among many others. It won’t be an easy task getting a commitment from Sneed, but the Irish have made him a priority, especially with Freeman heading his recruitment.

Scouts view: Newest Notre Dame commitment ‘22 DE Tyson Ford

A look at what to expect from the Newest Notre Dame commitment, defensive end Tyson Ford in the 2022 recruiting class.

The first commit of the Marcus Freeman era is a big one, in Missouri’s Tyson Ford. The elite defensive end stands six-foot-five-inches and weighs 245-pounds, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he plays.

Ranked as a top 10 player at his position, Ford is an absolutely huge recruiting win, as Brian Kelly and the Irish made a huge late push to overcome an his presumed commitment to Oklahoma.

Here is a scouts view of what to expect from Tyson Ford when he arrives to South Bend:

First thing that pops off on Ford’s film is his elite first step, many times getting past offensive tackles before they have an opportunity to get their hands on him. When they do, Ford shows a variety of high-level moves to get to the quarterback which include a swim, speed and bullrush. He uses great hand movements to fend off defenders, something Ford shows an impressive display doing. Strength isn’t an issue, but once strength coach Matt Balis gets his hands on him, Ford’s abilities in this category will greatly improve. He never gives up on plays, often chasing down ball-carriers from the backside.

Ford is the type of player that could make an immediate impact due to his pass-rushing abilities. I’m a big fan of his game and excited to see what he can do during his Notre Dame career.

Polian heads out to Utah for newest Notre Dame offer to stud athlete

Recruiting never sleeps and Notre Dame recruiting coordinator has found a big time athlete in Utah and offered him yesterday.

The second offer out to a defender since Marcus Freeman took over as defensive coordinator went out to Utah’s Lander Barton, a very impressive athlete who most likely will end up as an outside linebacker.

 

Although recruiting coordinator Brian Polian is leading his recruitment, Barton surely fits the mold that Freeman is looking for in his defense.

After reviewing the six-foot-four-inch and 220-pound linebackers film, there isn’t much to complain about. Barton flies around the field, showing his sideline-to-sideline speed, which will undoubtedly translate over to the collegiate level. The speed is shown off again when Barton blitzes off the edge, punishing offensive players and showing active hands when he arrives to ball-carriers. He’s no slouch at picking passes off either, with very good coverage skills. This shows that Barton will most likely be a three-down linebacker when he hits the field in college.

Notre Dame has identified a great prospect as Barton already holds offers from Oregon, Stanford, Washington and others. This is a great offer and I personally hope to see Barton ultimately end up donning the Blue and Gold.

Watch: Notre Dame football targets dominate in Dallas Pylon event

Highlights from the Dallas Pylon 7 on 7 event who hold Notre Dame offers.

It is the offseason for high school athletes, which means going to camps, getting individual and group workouts along with competing in 7 vs. 7 tournaments.

The latter was happening in Dallas, Texas this weekend with the Pylon 7 vs. 7 tournament. Plenty of Notre Dame targets were in attendance and there were highlights that Notre Dame fans needed to see. Here are some of the top 2022 and 2023 targets highlights who have Notre Dame offers. I also have personally seen three of the four prospects featured, and they are more than impressive. Also, two of them were on my 2022 offensive wish list as well.

Notre Dame Recruiting update plus 2022 offensive wishlist

An update of the latest Notre Dame football recruiting news along with a 2022 offensive wish list.

The Notre Dame 2021 class is pretty much all wrapped up. With 26 players who have signed their letter of intent, Brian Kelly’s class has been pretty much maxed out. Louisiana’s Logan Diggs remains committed, but reading the tea leaves and the class having over the allotted 25 players, it’s doubtful that the running back ends up signing with the Irish on the second signing day, February 3rd.

So the focus has been turned to the 2022 class, which has 4 current commits (offensive linemen Joey Tanona and Ty Chan, safety Nolan Ziegler and tight end Jack Nickel). Let’s take a look at the most recent news on that class along with my personal wishlist of offensive prospects in that class. Next week, I’ll bring you my defensive wish list.

Notre Dame Football: 2021 Early signing day superlatives

With the 2021 early signing period having come and gone, here are some superlatives for the Notre Dame Football recruiting class.

The early signing day has come and went, with it’s normal drama which the Irish saw plenty of. There was a surprise signature from Ron Powlus Jr., two Friday flips (from MSU Audric Estime and from LSU Khari Gee) while the Irish are battling instate LSU to retain the signature of running back Logan Diggs. As we look back on the 8th best recruiting class in the nation according to the 247Sports composite, let’s take a look a some superlatives for the newest incoming Notre Dame football stars of tomorrow.

Scouts view: Newest flip and sign running back Audric Estime

A look at what to expect from the second flip of the day for Notre Dame, running back Audric Estime.

As Ice Cube once said, ‘today is a good day.’ That’s exactly what the Irish are feeling after securing their second flip of the day, first Khari Gee from LSU and now running back Audric Estime from Michigan State. (Check out what to expect from Gee here)

Although Notre Dame has to wait until February to find out if Logan Diggs will be a member of the 2021 class, Brian Kelly has now secured at least one running back in the class. Let’s take a look at what to expect out of the newest Irish commit, Audric Estime.

In just eight games, Estime totaled 1,862 rushing yards along with 24 touchdowns, huge numbers in such a short season. His first three touches on his highlight reel, Estime is barely touched while taking those carries for long touchdowns, showcasing his speed and vision. He’s not extremely shifty, but has enough wiggle to make defenders miss. Estime is more of a north/south runner, who is hard to take down, arm tackles he runs right through.

Estime shows good hands in the passing game, enough to keep a defense honest. His high school offense uses a variety of sets, from an offset I-formation to zone read plays from the shotgun. The versatility is impressive, for the six-foot-one-inch and 215-pound back.

The running back room is now absolutely loaded, with Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree leading the charge and Estime coming to join them. Kelly and running back coach Lance Taylor should be ecstatic about the commitment and signing of Audric Estime.

Scouts view: Newest Notre Dame signee safety Khari Gee

What should Notre Dame fans expect then they see newest Irish commit Khari Gee on the field in South Bend.

Brian Kelly wasn’t messing around when he told us that the 2021 recruiting class was not done. This morning the Irish got a letter of intent from Georgia safety Khari Gee.

The Irish flipped Gee from LSU’s grasp on the final day of the early signing period. Let’s take a look at what to expect out of the newest Notre Dame commit.

What first jumps out from Gee is his willingness to come up and makes plays, with his impressive speed. The way he is able to flip his hips without losing speed is extremely impressive, he even lined up as an outside linebacker in some situations for his high school. Gee reads plays extremely well, his instincts are top of the line.

Over and over again, Gee’s speed shows, never giving up on plays. Although he stands six-feet-three-inches and 185-pounds, Gee could eventually grow out of the safety position and end up as a linebacker. He very well could just add on a few pounds and end up as a massive cornerback, Gee certainly has the skill set to play on an island.

I absolutely love this pickup and the new defensive coordinator is going to have a very good athlete to deploy Gee’s ranking isn’t what you’d expect from a player of his caliber, the Irish are getting a diamond in the rough.

Notre Dame could be getting a big addition to the 2021 class tomorrow

With the final day of the early signing period coming, Notre Dame could be making an addition to their 2021 recruiting class.

The Notre Dame recruiting class might not be finished just yet. While Brian Kelly and his staff are awaiting the final decision from Louisiana running back Logan Diggs, they could be getting a running back in the class before February, when Diggs will make his final decision.

Although New Jersey running back Audric Estime is currently committed to Michigan State, he opted not to signed yesterday and will make his official decision tomorrow. The Irish offered him a scholarship Monday and obviously made him think about his commitment to the Spartans.

The talented running back stands six-foot-one-inch and weights 215-pounds and is ranked as one of the best in the country. Rivals lists him as the 132nd best player in the nation, while 247Sports has Estime ranked as the 244th. Either way the Jersey native is a big time player.

The Irish could be making a late, early-signing period addition to their 2021 recruiting class.