Why haven’t the Irish offered two high level ‘22 in-state prospects?

The Notre Dame staff has yet to offer two national prospects that reside in their own backyard.

It is still very early for many in the class of 2022 recruiting cycle, Notre Dame currently has just two commits in the class. Yes, one of them is from in-state offensive tackle Joey Tanona, the second ranked player in the state, but they have yet to offer the best player in the state, defensive tackle Caden Curry.

Curry resides in Greenwood, a suburb of Indianapolis, has been offered by Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Purdue and others. What’s missing is an offer from the Irish and Brian Kelly seems to be falling behind the ball on Curry’s recruitment. His current perceived leaders are Ohio State and Alabama, but the Irish haven’t even joined the party. You might wonder what the holdup is to offering Curry and that’s a great question. The 10th ranked defensive tackle according to the 247Sports composite rankings should hold an Irish offer at this moment, but alas, he does not.

Another question is why hasn’t Kelly offered rising offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin? The massive tackle has seen his recruitment explode over the last few days, adding a big offer from Ohio State yesterday while he already had offers from USC, Alabama and LSU. Goodwin is further down the state in Charleston, a suburb of Louisville, but on the Indiana side. The Irish have yet to offer him as well. Goodwin is unranked in the 247Sports composite, but his offer list tells me that is going to change soon.

It is a bit confusing that the Notre Dame coaching staff has yet to offer either of these big-time prospects, but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. In 2015, the Irish signed 3 of the top 5 in-state players, but since then until this year’s recruiting cycle, Kelly hasn’t signed one top 5 in-state player. Offensive tackle Blake Fisher will break that streak when he signs later this year, but this is still very concerning.

There are high level players in Notre Dame’s back yard that they are allowing to leave. Clearly there are some hurdles with academics, but this is definitely something to monitor. Seeing Indiana’s finest players on other teams rosters just doesn’t sit well with me.

Why haven’t the Irish offered two high level ‘22 in-state prospects?

The Notre Dame staff has yet to offer two national prospects that reside in their own backyard.

It is still very early for many in the class of 2022 recruiting cycle, Notre Dame currently has just two commits in the class. Yes, one of them is from in-state offensive tackle Joey Tanona, the second ranked player in the state, but they have yet to offer the best player in the state, defensive tackle Caden Curry.

Curry resides in Greenwood, a suburb of Indianapolis, has been offered by Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Purdue and others. What’s missing is an offer from the Irish and Brian Kelly seems to be falling behind the ball on Curry’s recruitment. His current perceived leaders are Ohio State and Alabama, but the Irish haven’t even joined the party. You might wonder what the holdup is to offering Curry and that’s a great question. The 10th ranked defensive tackle according to the 247Sports composite rankings should hold an Irish offer at this moment, but alas, he does not.

Another question is why hasn’t Kelly offered rising offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin? The massive tackle has seen his recruitment explode over the last few days, adding a big offer from Ohio State yesterday while he already had offers from USC, Alabama and LSU. Goodwin is further down the state in Charleston, a suburb of Louisville, but on the Indiana side. The Irish have yet to offer him as well. Goodwin is unranked in the 247Sports composite, but his offer list tells me that is going to change soon.

It is a bit confusing that the Notre Dame coaching staff has yet to offer either of these big-time prospects, but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. In 2015, the Irish signed 3 of the top 5 in-state players, but since then until this year’s recruiting cycle, Kelly hasn’t signed one top 5 in-state player. Offensive tackle Blake Fisher will break that streak when he signs later this year, but this is still very concerning.

There are high level players in Notre Dame’s back yard that they are allowing to leave. Clearly there are some hurdles with academics, but this is definitely something to monitor. Seeing Indiana’s finest players on other teams rosters just doesn’t sit well with me.

Notre Dame offers ’22 New Jersey Defensive Back

The Irish head out to the east coast for their most recent offer, New Jersey cornerback Avery Powell.

August has been a nice month for New Jersey defensive back Avery Powell. Yesterday the Irish joined Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Florida as the schools to offer the 5-foot-11-inch defensive star so far this month.

A big wow from Powell as he announced that the Irish had offered, a reaction that none of the other offered schools received. That makes 10 total offers out to current class of 2022 cornerback prospects, with the majority if them being bigger prospects. Powell is on the smaller side at 5-foot-11-inches and 170-pounds, but that did not scare the Irish staff.

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Powell’s numbers his sophomore year aren’t eye popping, but playing significantly at that level is impressive. He recorded one interception while having 9 pass break-ups and 52 tackles. The Irish look to add to their 2022 recruiting class that currently has 2 current commits, OL Joey Tanona and TE Jack Nickel, which has them ranked 7th nationally by the 247Sports composite at this early juncture.

Irish offer class of 2022 Florida Safety Rowser

Notre Dame offers former Michigan commit Myles Rowser who now preps in Florida.

The Notre Dame football staff saw their class of 2022 work finally be rewarded last week as offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel became the first two verbal commits for the class. As the recruiting cycle continues, so do the efforts of the Irish as they last night offered Florida safety Myles Rowser.

A Michigan native, who just recently moved to IMG Academy to get ready for his collegiate career. Rowser has already committed once, to home state Michigan, but opted to reopen his recruitment. The 6-foot-1-inch and 185-pound safety already holds 22 offers including Florida, Penn State and obviously Michigan. He will not be afraid to return to play his collegiate football in the Midwest, but it seems like Rowser could have the ability to play in almost any region.

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The Irish hope that a return to the Midwest is the case, more specifically South Bend. Rowser is currently ranked as the 151st overall player nationally and the 10th ranked safety by the 247Sports composite. The Irish are making some waves in the 2022 class, and a future addition of Rowser would be more than welcome.

Just how good is Notre Dame OL commit Alt?

It has been very tough to figure out what kind of player Irish offensive line commit Joe Alt will be in the future.

When Minnesota’s Joe Alt committed to the Irish early last month, many wondered why the Irish had just taken yet another tight end. Well, that wasn’t really the case as Brian Kelly recruited the 6-foot-7-inch and 260-pound Alt as a tackle. The problem was that many recruiting services had Alt listed as a tight end, which is why his ranking is so low.

Rivals looked into Alt and his rating, due to the fact that they have had issues rating him. Josh Helmholdt, one of their recruiting analysts, said that “we initially rated Alt as a tight end because he is difficult to project to tackle without more information. Alt’s offer list suggests that, by in large, college coaches had difficulty projecting him as well, with several strong regional offers but a total offer list that numbers in the single digits.”

Helmholdt wonders “how much athleticism and foot speed does he lose when he adds the 70-plus pounds he needs to play tackle at Notre Dame, thought?” With the state of Minnesota pushing their season to the spring, we will have to wait and see how Alt’s continues his body transformation to a full-time offensive tackle.

It is something that isn’t overtly concerning to Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, as a project like Alt is worth looking into. With most of Alt’s experience at tight end, don’t be surprised to see Alt take a redshirt as he learns the technique in his new position. It would be even less surprising to see Alt continue his progression and not make an impact for a few years as a member of the Irish. He is looked at as a high ceiling but low floor player, however the effort for the Irish is worth it to see if Alt can become the next star Notre Dame offensive tackle.

Scout’s View: Newest Irish Commit Offensive Guard Rocco Spindler

Find out what to expect out of Notre Dame’s newest 2021 commit, Michigan offensive lineman Rocco Spindler.

It isn’t very often that Brian Kelly and his staff go out searching for offensive guards. The philosophy on recruiting linemen has been to go after a center, which the Irish have in Illinois’ Pat Coogan, then get tackles like instate Blake Fisher and Minnesota’s Joe Alt. The last time Kelly signed a guard was in 2017 with Robert Hainsey, that turned out pretty well, but that all changed today with the commit of Michigan’s Rocco Spindler.

Spindler is ranked even higher than Hainsey was, 48th nationally compared to 84th, but expectations will remain the same for the 6-foot-5-inch and 315-pound star. The Irish beat out Midwest powers Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, his perceived runner-up, along with defending national champion LSU for Spindler’s commitment.

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Although Spindler also lined up at tackle for his Clarkston High School team, he will make the full-time transition over to guard when he arrives at South Bend. Spindler is a devastating run-blocker, often getting to the second level and allowing the skill position players to matriculate down the field. A matchup between Spindler and a linebacker isn’t going to end well for the defender. He shows good footwork during pass blocking, sometimes he does get a bit upright and has to use his strength to overpower rushers. That will not be as effective at the next level when he faces against players who are of similar strength, but his frame looks like it could add on good weight in the near future. Spindler’s footwork allow him to be very effective at pulling and being the lead blocker on screen plays.  What he does have is a nasty streak, something coaches just can’t teach, a trait of any elite lineman.

Anytime you beat the Wolverines, wither it’s on the field or off it, it’s an extra cherry on top. The Irish scored in a big way today with the commitment of Spindler, who should have a bright future in Blue and Gold.

Scout’s View: Linebacker Prince Kollie, Newest Notre Dame Commit

Take at look at what to expect out of the newest Irish commit, Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie.

The Irish are starting to finalize their 2021 recruiting class and the newest addition is Tennessee linebacker Prince Kollie.

Kollie has started since his sophomore year on varsity, his tackles increased from 65 his first year to 78 in his second. He also added two more tackles for loss from the year prior with 4 total in his junior year. Kollie added two sacks to his junior stats along with an interception while causing 3 fumbles and recovering one. He did this in two less games as well.

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After watching his highlight reel, the 6-foot-2-inch and 200-pound ‘backer shows a great nose for the football. Kollie lines up all over the field, from a strong safety in the box, blitzing off the edge, to a stand-up defensive end rushing the passer. He is a willing tackler and shows great hands, Collie caught 65 passes for 1,085 yards and 9 TD’s last year. Collie’s run defense is much more ahead of his coverage skills at the moment, he does play well when the play is in front of him. This could eventually lead to him moving back to safety at some point in his career. Although he is most likely going to start out as an outside linebacker, he could ultimately be looked at as a hybrid defender like Clemson had with Isaiah Simmons, making plays from different positions.

When Collie arrives on campus, defensive coordinator Clark Lea will have to figure out if Collie will join him in the linebacker’s room or if he’ll start out in the defensive back room with Terry Joseph. My guess would be starting off with Lea, due to the fact that the Irish did not sign a true linebacker in last years recruiting class. Either way, it’s a good problem for Brian Kelly to have as we welcome Prince Kollie to the Notre Dame family.

Will Irish commit Diggs make you forget about missing out on Shipley?

Notre Dame finally got their running back in the 2021 class, but will the commit of Logan Diggs make your forget about losing Will Shipley?

The Irish gained a commitment from Louisiana running back Logan Diggs this week, but the sting of missing out on North Carolina’s Will Shipley still is there. Rivals recruiting experts Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney played fact or fiction if Diggs will ultimately be better than Shipley. Not so fast my friends, as Lee Corso would famously say on ESPN.

Both Farrell and Gorney believe that the statement is fiction, although both think that Diggs is underrated compared to his class of 2021 peers. I see Diggs as having tons of untapped potential, and so do Rival’s experts. Farrell noted that Diggs “missed some time due to injury as a sophomore and is just starting to emerge as a playmaker. He’s not Shipley, but he’s a solid replacement.” Gorney see’s Diggs as “underrated in this class, has great film, is a dynamic back who has make-you-miss ability and will be a nice weapon in Notre Dame’s offense, but there’s only one Will Shipley in this class.”

Yes, losing Shipley hurt. Hurt a lot, but the addition of Diggs will help ease the pain. The state of Louisiana is set to begin practice’s for high school teams tomorrow, but their season will soon be adjusted. As long as Diggs is able to continue his breakout from last year, he will rise in the rankings and hopefully will make every forget about missing out on Shipley.

Irish stay hot on the recruiting trail, add ’21 TE Evans

With Ohio tight end Mitchell Evans committing to Notre Dame today, that makes 4 commits this week for the Irish.

It’s safe to say the Irish are red-hot on the recruiting trail right now. Just this week Brian Kelly and his staff have landed 2021 RB Logan Diggs, class of 2022 offensive tackle Joey Tanona and tight end Jack Nickel. You can now add ’21 tight end Mitchell Evans to the group also.

The Ohio tight end stands 6-foot-7-inches and weighs 240-pounds and the Irish beat out West Virginia, Florida State, Michigan State and others for Evans commitment. By the 247Sports composite, Evans is the 20th tight end nationally and the 435th overall player in the country.

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You want to know go good of an athlete Evans is? Just watch his highlight reel above and you see right away what the Irish staff liked about the tight end. The first play Evans lines up a quarterback and takes the snap 50-plus yards for a touchdown. There’s a lot to like about Evans’ game even though he didn’t put up eye-popping stats. The large frame will be a red zone nightmare for opposing defenses.

The commit by Evans is the 15th total commit for the 2021 class, bringing their national ranking to 13th rated by 247Sports. He is the second tight end commit for the Irish in the ’21 cycle joining Georgian Cane Berrong. Kelly and his staff are most likely done at the position as they continue to add premium talent on their way to South Bend.

 

Busy Weekend for Notre Dame Football in the 2022 Recruiting Cycle

The Irish gain their first class of ’22 football commit along with offering two elite players in the same class.

 

The biggest news out of the 2022 Irish recruiting class was the commit of Joey Tonana yesterday, but he wasn’t the only player the Notre Dame staff was after this weekend. Two more offers in the ’22 class were given out, both of them ranking inside the Top 100 prospects for the cycle.

The first player to report an offer was Texas’ athlete Brenen Thompson, the 5-foot-10-inch and 165-pounds player is ranked as the 77th overall prospect according to the 247Sports composite. The Irish join Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, USC and others vying for his commitment.

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Thompson plays quarterback for his Spearman High team, but due to his size he doesn’t project to play there in college. What Thompson does possess is great vision and burst. The offensive side of the ball is where Thompson projects, but it remains to be seen if it’s at wide receiver or running back.

North Carolina’s Jalon Walker was the other reported offer, the linebacker is an imposing figure at 6-foot-2-inches and 220-pounds for the rising junior. Already holding offers from LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, Clemson and others, Walker is a nationally recruited prospect. It makes sense as he is rated as the 36th overall player by the 247Sports composite.

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Walker plays a lot of coverage for his Salisbury High team but when he arrives for the tackle, he brings it. A ferocious hitter may need to refine his pass rushing skills but as a run stopper and in coverage, Walker is already ahead of the game. He has the size already for the collegiate game and shows enough speed to potentially move back into the secondary and be a hard-hitting safety.

It has been quite in regards to the 2022 class for Brian Kelly and his staff but this weekend was a step in the right direction. Getting their first commit in offensive tackle Joey Tanona and offering Walker and Thompson is positive movement of the Irish.