Notre Dame Commit Jack Larsen Is A Vastly Underrated Player
The Notre Dame 2024 offensive recruiting class has a chance to be special. In fact, it could be the best we have seen in a long, long time.
Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic star tight end Jack Larsen is a big reason for that. It wasn’t long ago that Larsen was helping to get things kicked off after he performed fantastically at the Irish Invasion last year. From there, Larsen, quarterback CJ Carr and wide receiver Cam Williams committed soon after.
Notre Dame fans are incredibly high on Carr, who is expected to be the next great quarterback for the program. They also love Willams, who is a legitimate five-star talent in the 2024 class. Larsen, however, is often overlooked due to marginal size and perceived average athletic skills.
Based on senior film, it’s become very apparent that Larsen may be the most underrated player in the Irish 2024 class. The young man is, and has always been, one of the best tight ends in that recruitment class with one of the highest overall floors as a player.
PASSING GAME MISMATCH
When you think of Jack Larsen, you think of impact as a pass receiver. He’s the modern tight end who can line up everywhere and make an impact. The word movable chess piece is a great description.
Larsen makes his money as a route runner. For a high school senior, he really has a great understanding for how to attack leverage and create separation with his route running ability. You can see that on this play, a stick nod route for a big play.
As Larsen sells the out route, he is able to quickly flip his hips and explode up field. He creates instant separation and comes wide open down the seam. Larsen is an extremely smooth athlete who has surprisingly flexible hips and easiness working to open grass.
That stick nod route is littered all over his film. Here it is again, leading to another big play down the seam.
Unfortunately the quarterback led Larsen a bit too far, forcing him to have to lay out for the catch. You can see the hand strength and ball skills to make a play on that ball and make a circus catch. That whole sequence shows the best parts of Larsen’s game: smoothness, football IQ, great hands and outstanding ball skills.
On the final stick nod I highlighted, you can once again see the desirable athletic skills that you love to see. It starts with the route, which is tremendous. Easily able to create separation, with outstanding smoothness.
This route break might be one of the best on film. You can see the snap and drive up front. While he isn’t a burner, Larsen has more than enough speed to create some chunk plays. He will never be a dynamic vertical player but he has enough to create plays when they are there for explosives.
Charlotte Catholic also uses Larsen a ton split out as a wide receiver, and even outside the numbers. He specializes in the back shoulder game, showing the body control and hand strength to finish through contact.
A player who can win outside the numbers consistently is a presence that Notre Dame lacks right now. It won’t be Larsen’s top role as a pass catcher but it is certainly something he can do at times. That is a testament to his versatility as a pass catcher.
Two of the best parts of Larsen’s game is the feel for how to attack space and his natural instincts to catch the football. You can see Larsen navigate traffic and find the soft spot against zone coverage. The most impressive part of the play is Larsen’s ability to play through contact.
You can see the concentration. You can see the strong hands. That ability to finish at the catch point is absolutely incredible. If you put the football in Larsen’s vicinity, he’s going to more than likely come up with the catch.
BLOCKING UPSIDE
Larsen is mostly used as a pass game weapon for the Cougars but he also does do some solid work in the run game as a blocker. While it will never be his bread and butter, he does play with outstanding effort in that department. Larsen does have a couple of physical traits that do translate relatively well in that department.
One important baseline as a blocker is effort. If a player doesn’t have the urgency to compete in the run game, they will rarely ever turn a corner and become an asset in that area. That is no issue for Larsen.
You can see that his feet do run on contact. It’s not a great rep from a pad level and leverage perspective. He needs to play with lower pads and fire out to make more effective contact. The finish, however, is really nice. You can see Larsen place his hand high on the inside shoulder in order to torque him and finish the defender on the ground.
As a down blocker, Larsen does typically play with lower pads. On this particular play, he went to seal the opposing defensive lineman. When he feels him sealed off by the offensive tackle, Larsen explodes up field for to find work.
He meets the linebacker on the second level and is able to finish him on the ground. For a smaller tight end, Larsen does have some pretty explosive power in his lower half. On the move, he could be a tremendous asset as a blocker long term.
Larsen, overall, is never going to be a great blocker. He can be an asset in the right role, as a wing or H back on the move. There he can create leverage easier without having to be the densest or strongest tight end of all time.
NEXT STEP
Physically, Larsen is never going to be one of the most impressive talents of the 2024 tight ends but he is going to be one of the best football players. He does a lot of things that most high school seniors just don’t do well; attention to detail, route running chops, playing through contact, etc.
You can continue to underage Larsen if you like but that seems very unwise. As a collective, we seem to forget that he was rated right behind Carr in terms of rankings when the trio committed to Notre Dame. As his ranking decreased, the perception from Irish fans continued to soften.
It’s hard to watch Larsen’s senior film and not get excited. Quite simply, he’s an outstanding football player.
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