Notre Dame Film Room: 2024 Safety Davis Andrews

There is an extreme importance for Notre Dame to recruit the safety position at a high level in the 2024 recruiting class. One player who the staff is very high on currently is American Fork (Utah) High School standout Davis Andrews.

The Utah native has already scheduled a visit to South Bend for the Blue-Gold Game. Andrews brings an impressive profile to the field who could provide some incredibly intriguing versatility to the table.

Here’s the Irish Breakdown target breakdown of Andrews.

PROSPECT PROFILE

Hometown/High School: American Fork, Utah/American Fork

Height/Weight: 6-2, 190

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 250 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5 (Top 50 caliber prospect)

Offers: Notre Dame, Tennessee, Utah, Stanford, Colorado, Washington State, BYU, Cal, Arizona

FILM ROOM

Let's talk about Andrews’ game.

Size/Frame/Strength - Andrews frame is the thing that sticks out immediately on film. He is tall, long, and has plenty of room to add good weight down the road. For a safety on the back end, Andrews has a premier frame that should allow him to disrupt passing lanes with his reach. As he adds more mass on, his strength profile should improve, which is good but not great right now.

Athletic Skills - There is a smoothness to Andrews’ game which is really fun to watch. From a long speed perspective, he is solid but it is not a place that he necessarily excels. His short area quickness is also good, really doing well to change directions in his pedal and laterally. This allows Andrews to play some man coverage and redirect well in space.

Instincts/Technique - Andrews’ instincts are outstanding, both in the run and passing game. He has a propensity to be in the right place at the correct time and finish plays by forcing turnovers. From a technical perspective, there are some false steps when changing directions but for the most part, Andrews is an efficient mover who does well to make plays in space.

Coverage Ability - In pass coverage, Andrews has some smooth hips to make some rangy plays working from depth. His best work and upside is as a short zone defender who can make a variety of plays triggering downhill and using his length to disrupt passing lanes. His combination of size, length and smoothness make him a potential asset working from the slot against tight ends and bigger body types. Andrews has the type of profile that could potentially translate well as a rover long term.

Run Game - In the run game, Andrews has some outstanding upside as he fills out. He has little issue throwing his weight around and does play with nice technique as a tackler. Andrews also makes some of his biggest impacts in the run game, routinely forcing fumbles and finishing plays in pursuit. Adding weight to his frame and growing his power profile will be extremely beneficial.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

While Andrews is a quality all around athlete, he will need to play with more efficient footwork out in space. Those missteps can allow for some easy separation at the top of routes. It is very fixable but will need to be an area of focus moving forward.

Andrews’ other key area of improvement will need to be to simply get stronger and add weight to his frame. He will be playing near the line of scrimmage a lot during his college career so will need to make sure his play strength is consistent.

NOTRE DAME FIT

Andrews has the type of profile that could potentially fit into multiple spots on the Notre Dame defense. His initial spot would most likely be as a field safety, taking advantage of Andrews’ ability to rotate down and get involved near the line of scrimmage. As he gets bigger, his long term outlook could be extremely intriguing as a rover in the Irish defense. With Andrews’ combination of size, length and versatility, he could become a playmaker from that position in the future.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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