Tag: Sam Pendleton

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko has high expectations for Notre Dame freshman starting offensive lineman

Elko may just be right about Knapp and Pendleton

If you haven’t heard, Notre Dame football released its depth chart against Texas A&M, and there are two freshman starting offensive lineman.

True-freshman [autotag]Anthonie Knapp[/autotag] and redshirt-freshman [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag] will run out onto Kyle Field when the Irish take their first offensive snaps of the 2024 season. While many would see this as a potential problem, Aggies head coach [autotag]Mike Elko[/autotag] viewed it completely differently.

The former Notre Dame defensive coordinator met with the media on Monday and was very complimentary of the two starting freshman. Elko mentioned that the Irish traditionally have one of the best offensive lines in the country, and if a young player is starting, they’re going to eventually get drafted one day.

It’s hard to disagree with this assessment, as the Irish have had a few freshman start over the last couple years ended up seeing their names called in the draft.

Joe Alt and Blake Fisher are just two examples of young Notre Dame offensive lineman being ready to perform at this level immediately. It seems like the Irish have another pair that can do so in Knapp and Pendleton.

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Notre Dame football releases its depth chart for Texas A&M with two big surprises

We know who the Irish will send out for the first snaps

You know that it’s a Notre Dame football game week when they release a depth chart.

The first one of the year is always interesting to see, as you can see the tangible improvements from players. The biggest takeaway should be that the Irish are going to start two freshman on the offensive line in [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthonie Knapp[/autotag].

While Pendleton is a redshirt, Knapp isn’t as they’ll both be making their debuts on the road at Texas A&M.

Defensively, there aren’t many surprises here, lots of underclassmen making the two-deep. Luke Talich doesn’t get much hype, but he’s right behind classmate Adon Schuler as the boundary corner.

This clearly will change as the season goes on, but no we know who will be on the field for the first snaps of the year for the Irish on Saturday.

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Notre Dame hosting their next commitment Tuesday?

Do the Irish close the deal here?

Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class swelled to 10 members Monday night when [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag] became the first offensive lineman to give his verbal commitment to the class.  Could the 11th commitment soon be coming?

Defensive lineman Boubacar Traore, a former [autotag]Boston College[/autotag] commitment and four-star prospect according to 247Sports, is on Notre Dame’s campus Tuesday.

Traore committed to Boston College on August 5, 2020 but decommitted in March.  Michigan and Pitt are also known to have offered him a scholarship and currently all four crystal ball predictions for Traore on 247Sports have him ultimately choosing Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.

Traore is listed at 6-4, 250-pounds from Catholic Memorial High School in Massachusetts.  He’s the younger brother of former LSU offensive tackle who currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Stay tuned to see if the Irish can close the deal and land another star in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

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Meet Notre Dame’s Now Complete 2023 Recruiting Class

Meet Notre Dame’s 26 current commitments in what is a top-five class nationally.

After a whirlwind couple of years the 2023 recruiting class has officially been completed at Notre Dame.  What started out tremendously hit a few snags along the way.  It closed with one of the strangest signing day stories you’ll ever see when Peyton Bowen bailed on Notre Dame for Oregon, only to change his mind and bail on Oregon for Oklahoma just a day later.

In all, Notre Dame wound up with 24 signed commitments after the second signing period in February.  It didn’t finish in the top couple of spots nationally like we had hoped after it’s tremendous start but will continue to add to the overall talent for Notre Dame.

Here are the 24 newest members of the Notre Dame football team:

Notre Dame Football 2023 early signing day tracker

This class didn’t waste any time getting their signatures to South Bend

It is finally upon us, the hard work the Irish football staff has put in can finally but a “bow” on the 2023 recruiting cycle. Yes, there is still another point where recruits can sign, but Marcus Freeman and his staff have already maxed out the class with verbals and if everyone signs, they will be one over the normal allotment of 25 players.

A few of the verbals didn’t waste any time faxing their information over to South Bend but they should keep coming in as the day proceeds. Find out below which Irish commitments have made their Notre Dame pledges complete. (This list will be updated as the day goes on so make sure to return.)

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Breaking: Notre Dame loses another 2023 commitment

Not the best recruiting news at all

At one point during this 2023 recruiting cycle, Notre Dame held the top spot in the nation but things have certainly changed since sitting atop the recruiting world earlier this year. First it was [autotag]Sedrick Irvin Jr.[/autotag], then [autotag]Justyn Rhett[/autotag] and the biggest decommit, [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag].

Keely obviously hurt the most, as he was the highest rated commit and was on the Ohio State sidelines shortly after formally announcing he was not a part of the Irish class anymore.

Today the fourth decommit of the 2023 cycle happened for the Irish as Arizona offensive lineman [autotag]Elijah Paige[/autotag] has decided to step away from his pledge to Notre Dame.

This one was a bit surprising as there was no smoke to Paige leaving the class. With Paige gone, the Irish have twenty-two verbals with four offensive lineman ([autotag]Charles Jagusah[/autotag], [autotag]Sullivan Absher[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Otting[/autotag], and [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag]).

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The Great Wall of South Bend get’s another 2023 commitment

The wall is now complete

Earlier this week 2023 offensive lineman commit [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag] had a feeling that there was another player joining his position group. He was so confident that he posted a picture on Twitter about it.

Well, Pendleton, or shall we say Samstradamus, was correct as Illinois offensive tackle [autotag]Charles Jagusah[/autotag] verbally committed to Notre Dame today. The six-foot-six-inch and 290-pound tackle announced via his Twitter account the he was joining the 2023 Irish recruiting class. Jagusah now makes it an even five commits, joining Pendleton, [autotag]Sullivan Absher[/autotag], [autotag]Elijah Paige[/autotag], and [autotag]Joe Otting[/autotag] in the group. Jagusah, however is viewed as the crown jewel of the bunch.

Ranked as one of the best players at his position, tackle, Jagusah held offers from LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and others before ultimately selecting the Irish. The verbal most likely finishes off the pursuit of other offensive lineman in the class, which now in total sits at 16 commits.

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Current Notre Dame commit tries to entice recruit who commits this week

“The Great Wall of South Bend” could be close to completion

The offensive line has long been a strength for the Irish, often the moniker of [autotag]“O-Line U”[/autotag] is dropped when talking about the tradition. That tradition has a very good chance of succeeding, in the present and beyond.

Center [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag] was named a 1st team preseason All-American by Walter Camp. Rising sophomores [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Fisher[/autotag] look like stalwarts on the line for at least the next two seasons before their inevitable move to the NFL.

The 2023 recruiting class is trying to hold up their end of the bargain with [autotag]Sullivan Absher[/autotag], [autotag]Elijah Paige[/autotag], [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Otting[/autotag] currently committed to the Irish. Pendleton is looking for yet another lineman to join the class, Illinois tackle [autotag]Charles Jagusah[/autotag].

If Jagusah is to commit, which he intends to do this Thursday, it would make a very impressive five commits along the line and most likely would complete the position for the 2023 cycle. As Pendleton put it, “The Great Wall of South Bend” would be complete with Jagusah.

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Top Illinois offensive lineman includes Notre Dame in official visit schedule

Come east young man

The Irish are looking for more than just one other offensive lineman to join current 2023 commits Sullivan Absher and Sam Pendleton. Fresh off the news that Notre Dame is a legit candidate for Massachusetts five-star tackle Samson Okunlola, there is another development along the lines.

In a report from 247Sports Steve Wiltfong, Illinois offensive tackle Charles Jagusah has set four of his five official visit dates. Along with a trip to South Bend, the six-foot-six-inch and 310-pound tackle will visit Missouri, Arkansas and Michigan with a fifth still up in the air.

It wasn’t just finding out about the visit that was good news for Marcus Freeman, also the breakdown from Jagusah on why he’s still considering the Irish. “Notre Dame is close. Also a great team with a great tradition. Top-notch offensive line coach and he’s developed a very close relationship with Harry (Hiestand),” is what his mother, Sheila Doak, told Wiltfong.

At the current moment, the Irish are Jagusah’s last scheduled visit, but with one remaining that could change.

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247Sports: Notre Dame in the mix for nations top 2023 offensive tackle

If Freeman and Hiestand pull this one off…. WOW

For many years the Irish held the mantle of [autotag]O-Line U[/autotag] and although recently there has been a slight lull in production, they could very well be taking back the title. On the current roster, three offensive linemen, tackles [autotag]Blake Fisher[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] along with center [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag] will be drafted high when they declare to the NFL.

Of the 2022 recruiting class, [autotag]Billy Schrauth[/autotag], [autotag]Joey Tanona[/autotag], [autotag]Ty Chan[/autotag] and [autotag]Aamil Wagner[/autotag] were some of the most highly thought of signees, each of them will start their careers on the o-line as well. The 2023 class already has commitments from [autotag]Sullivan Absher[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag], but [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] is still looking for the headliner of the offensive line.

Enter Massachusetts’ [autotag]Samson Okunlola[/autotag], a six-foot-six-inch and 295-pound future star. He’s viewed as a five-star prospect and 247Sports Brian Dohn believes that the Irish are one of the few teams that realistically have a shot at landing Okunlola’s eventual signature.

It won’t be easy for returning offensive line coach [autotag]Harry Hiestand[/autotag], as Penn State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida, and Pittsburgh were also mentioned as potential destinations for Okunlola as well.

Dohn, however gives the Irish a fighting chance, due to “the academics, the idea of what the degree means on a national level after graduation and playing at a prestigious school are all things that could resonate” with the mammoth tackle. What isn’t in the Irish’s favor however was that Okunlola has very to visit South Bend and didn’t stop by during his spring visit to the Midwest.

As Dohn mentions that Okunlola will take visits later in the year and most likely very few will be during the season due to his high school playing all their games on Saturday’s. Either way, Freeman and Hiestand are in for quite a battle for the tackles eventual signature, but one where they currently are seen as having a legit shot at.

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