Building A Champion - Part II
Check any Notre Dame message board and you won't have to look hard to find the recruiting complaints. Some are warranted, Notre Dame has failed to land some of the elite talent needed to win a title. However, Notre Dame is recruiting on par with a majority of the elite schools at more than a few positions.
Notre Dame vs. Clemson Recruiting
I compared Notre Dame today to Clemson during their two title runs from a recruiting standpoint in part one. I rolled that over into part two to show a deeper breakdown of what Notre Dame does well, and where they must get better.
Looking at recruiting from 2011-2020, I broke down which school has brought in more 247Sports Composite Top 150 overall players by position.
ND Top 150 commits 2011-2020 Vs Clem Top 150 Commits 2011-2020
- OL - ND 16 - Clemson 9
- TE - ND 5 - Clemson 0
- LB - ND 8 - Clemson 8
- RB - ND 5 - Clemson 3
- QB - ND 3 - Clemson 4
- DB - ND 8 - Clemson 11
- DL - ND 8 - Clemson 16
- WR - ND 6 - Clemson 14
Notre Dame is actually bringing in a lot more talent along the offensive line and tight end which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The areas a bit more surprising is how close the talent gap is for quarterbacks and defensive backs. Notre Dame consistently has a solid defense outside of the Brian VanGorder era. Despite that dark, depressing time, Notre Dame is typically near the top in most categories. Clemson and Brent Venables have been put in a category of their own
Linebacker is a position that has thrived for a while at Notre Dame. While I will get into the development later, the recruiting has been strong. Notre Dame has brought in at least one Top 150 overall player every year except 2012, 2017, and 2019. The 2018 class featured two Top 150 linebackers (Jack Lamb, Shayne Simon).
On the offensive side, Notre Dame has been landing top tight ends for the better part of a decade. Furthermore, Notre Dame has brought in two Top 150 overall offensive linemen in every recruiting class except for 2011 and 2018. From a recruiting standpoint, that goes beyond Clemson and would rival just about every team in the country.
There are positions across the board that need to improve, but Notre Dame actually recruits at a Top 10 level. As I mentioned in part one, Clemson strung together an incredible dynasty recruiting at a very comparable level as Notre Dame.
Another point people will make is Notre Dame always finishes with classes ranked outside the Top 10. The problem is the recruiting rankings are a flawed system. It is a points system that looks at both the ratings of the players and how many players commit. It does not take into account filling holes or whether or not a class is balanced. Volume often trumps quality.
Notre Dame had the 17th ranked class in 2020. However, when you look at the average rating of the players Notre Dame signed, they have the 9th ranked class. It was a smaller class that hurt the overall ranking of the class. That puts the talent level of their class on par with Florida and Auburn. That makes a major difference when the 17th rated class has them behind Washington and just ahead of South Carolina.
Also, the same teams aren’t ranked ahead of them year after year, and Notre Dame’s consistency is why the roster is clearly one that is Top 10 caliber.
Notre Dame has their misses and heartbreaks under Brian Kelly, but to say they aren't close just isn't true. They have brought in as much or more talent at a number of positions compared to Clemson. They have other positions to focus on and need to boost their numbers of elite guys, but they are close.
Even landing a dominant recruiting class is only half the battle. Development is at the very least, just as important as bringing in a top class.
Notre Dame vs. Clemson Development
There are four positions Notre Dame has dominated over the last decade from a recruiting standpoint. Those also happen to be what they develop the best, with the defensive line recently becoming a strong focus.
Notre Dame vs. Clemson Players Drafted By Position
- OL - ND 6 - Clemson 4
- LB - ND 6 - Clemson 6
- TE - ND 7 - Clemson 1
- DL - ND 7 - Clemson 15
- DB - ND 9 - Clemson 12
- WR - ND 6 - Clemson 10
- RB - ND 2 - Clemson 4
Notre Dame has been bringing Top 150 linemen for a while but only recently has the tide shifted. Notre Dame has had four offensive linemen go in the first round in the last few years. Three of them were Top 10 picks and Notre Dame currently has another player that looks poised to be a first round pick next season (Liam Eichenberg).
Tight end is another that everyone will point to as a position Notre Dame has figured out. Outside of Iowa, nobody is really close when it comes to tight ends headed to the NFL.
Where Notre Dame has been more impressive is developing both their defensive backs and wide receivers. The Fighting Irish have had six receivers drafted since 2011, four of them going in the first three rounds. That’s impressive considering the fact Notre Dame signed just five Top 150 wide receivers since 2011, and three of them are still on the roster (Kevin Austin, Javon McKinley, Jordan Johnson).
Comparing that to Clemson, the Tigers have brought in 14 Top 150 receivers and had 10 drafted. Four of their receivers also went in the first three rounds. Just like the defense, everyone will talk about Clemson as the pinnacle of receiver success.
While they deserve the praise, Notre Dame has put in as many players in the top three rounds despite bringing in 30% of the talent. Notre Dame has recently started to bring both development and recruiting together at the receiver position, which is why the current roster has three Top 150 wideouts in the depth chart.
Offensive line, tight end, receiver, defensive back and defensive end have all been improving and getting drafted at a solid rate under Kelly. They are not close to Alabama at linebacker or putting defensive linemen into the NFL like Clemson. But when you look across the board, Notre Dame is right there with a bunch of top schools. Unfortunately, their title drought has also been very real.
This is important because getting to the level of the premier programs is easier when you have a strong foundation to build around. Part three will lay out what Notre Dame needs to fix if they want to win a title again.
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