Notre Dame only signed one Top 100 player in the last two cycles, but four of the signees graded out as Top 150 players and two more graded out as Top 250 players on the IB Board. The best part is that five of the eight signees earned five-star upside grades on the IB system, and two more earned 4.5-star grades.
It’s clear that Marcus Freeman, Al Golden and the defensive staff want to get a lot longer up front, and these two classes meet that need in impressive fashion. Traore, Young and Thomas are three of the longest players Notre Dame has signed in some time. Mullins and Vernon also have good length on the edge. This is also an athletic group that has a lot of pass rushing potential.
Notre Dame’s interior group is a bit more shaky from a numbers standpoint, but there is talent there. I was very high on Houstan and Mukam in the 2023 class, with Houstan having a higher floor and Mukam having an extremely high ceiling. If Sevillano is better than I think it will give the defense a huge boost inside.
Notre Dame has not been a great rush defense in recent seasons. They aren’t bad by any means, but they just aren’t as good defending the run as they’ve been defending the pass. One of my favorite aspects of this two-year group is they should add a major bump in run game production. The length I discussed already is part of it, but there’s a lot of good beef in this group, especially on the outside.
It isn’t quite there yet right now in regard to proven talent, which is why the grade is where it is, but you can’t deny that it absolutely has the potential to become an A group down the road.
LINEBACKER
Grade: A
2023 – Jaiden Ausberry – 4.5 (Top 50) – 5.0
2023 – Drayk Bowen – 4.0 (Top 100) – 5.0
2023 – Preston Zinter – 4.0 (Top 150) – 4.5
2024 – Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa – 4.5 (Top 50) – 5.0
2024 – Bodie Kahoun – 4.0 (Top 250) – 4.5
2024 – Teddy Rezac – 3.5 (Top 400) – 4.0
Notre Dame has recruited linebacker as well as any team in the country the last two cycles. There is size in this group, athleticism, versatility and the upsides are outstanding. Three players in the last two cycles earned five-star upside grades, which is half of the signees.
I loved the 2023 linebacker haul. Ausberry lacked great size, but he is athletic, instinctive and very productive. He could play rover, but I love his potential as an inside linebacker. Bowen needed technical work, but his raw potential is outstanding. He’s big, he’s athletic and he was a dominant two-way player as a senior. Zinter was an overlooked member of the class, but he had a great senior season. Zinter is an underrated athlete, he’s the biggest of the three backers in the class and he is good enough to play on offense (H-Back) at Notre Dame should that need arrive.
The 2024 class wasn’t quite as good, but Viliamu-Asa is the highest graded linebacker in the two-year haul. His instincts and talent are exceptional, and he will have a chance to make an immediate impact. What I like about the class, however, is the balance. The class has two pure interior players and Rezac is a pure rover.
The floors for the 2023 class are higher, while the 2024 class has loads of upside. This is a strong top to bottom group.
CORNERBACK
Grade: A-
2023 – Christian Gray – 4.0 (Top 100) – 5.0
2023 – Micah Bell – 4.0 (Top 150) – 5.0
2024 – Leonard Moore – 4.0 (Top 150) – 4.5
2024 – Karson Hobbs – 4.0 (Top 250) – 4.5
Notre Dame has significantly upgraded its cornerback talent in recent seasons, and the 2023-24 classes are a huge part of that. It’s a strong group that met needs, added good length, lots of upside and certainly improved the overall talent and athleticism at the position.
Only having one Top 100 player in the two classes is why it doesn’t earn an A grade. In fact, you could argue that having only one Top 100 player should result in it being more of a B+ grade, and that would be fair. These grades, however, factor in upside as well, and the four-man group Notre Dame signed the last two years has loads of upside.
Gray was a borderline Top 50 recruit coming out in the 2023 class, and beating Ohio State and LSU for him was a coup for the Irish. He’s long, smooth, fast and has a very high football IQ. Gray will have a chance to be a star at Notre Dame. Bell has truly elite speed and he’s a strong all-around athlete, but he’s technically very raw, which drags down his grade.
Moore likely would have jumped into the Top 100 had he been healthy as a senior, but it doesn’t take away from his potential and already strong level of play. Hobbs was a player I wasn’t all that high on when he committed, but his senior film was impressive, and his grade took a big jump. His combination of size, speed and strength stand out.
SAFETY
Grade: B-
2023 – Adon Shuler – 4.0 (Top 200) – 4.5
2023 – Ben Minich – 4.0 (Top 250) – 4.5
2024 – Brauntae Johnson – 4.0 (Top 100) – 5.0
2024 – Kennedy Urlacher – 4.0 (Top 250) – 4.0
2024 – Taebron Bennie-Powell – 3.5 (Top 350) – 4.0
Notre Dame has certainly improved its safety recruiting, but it’s still not as good as it needs to be, and it is the lowest graded position group on defense. This grade also doesn’t include 2023 walk-on Luke Talich, and the grade would rise up to a B if he was included, so that should be considered when you actually think about what the roster looks like instead of just viewing it based on signees.
The 2023 class was led by Shuler, who is a high football IQ safety that is a quality all-around athlete. My favorite part about his game, however, is his willingness and ability to deliver punishment. Shuler has future captain potential. Minich lacks the size that Shuler has, but he’s also smart and he can really, really run.
The 2024 group is all about potential. Even Johnson, the top ranked signee in either class, is still a bit more about potential than it is current excellence. Johnson has loads of talent, and I predict that if he can stay healthy, with good coaching he has all the tools needed to be a big time college football player. Urlacher is a thumper that can move, but he needs to grow a lot in coverage. Bennie-Powell is a solid prospect but lacks any top level tools.
I like the foundation Notre Dame laid at safety in the 2023-24 classes, and the numbers were important after they struck out at safety in the 2022 class. In the future, however, the high end talent needs to improve.
GRADE KEY
A — Elite / College Football Playoff caliber
B — Outstanding / Top 15 caliber
C — Solid / Borderline Top 25 caliber
D — Subpar / Not good enough
F — Disaster
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