Notre Dame Defensive Line Shows What Being A "Developmental Program" Is Supposed To Look Like

During the National Signing Day press conference the veteran Notre Dame coaches came into it with their talking points ready, and one theme that stood out was the drumbeat of "development."

Defensive line coach Mike Elston called Notre Dame a "developmental program," when it comes to how it recruits players, and then of course, how it develops those players.

"We are and will be a developmental program," Elston said on National Signing Day. "Whether it's a guy that's got a high rating or a low rating, we're looking for a young man that has a high ceiling and we want his best days of football to be ahead of him. We certainly don't want them to be peaked out in high school."

Calling yourself a developmental program is not necessarily a bad thing, and if you do it correctly it will work out quite well. Of course, it can also be used as a crutch, or an excuse not to put in the hard work to go after the best of the best.

Looking at defensive line recruiting in recent seasons shows what being a developmental program is supposed to look like. Starting with the 2016 class and ending with the 2020 class, Notre Dame landed 13 players that ended up playing defensive end and eight that ended up playing on the inside.

Not a single one of those recruits was ranked as a Top 100 prospect on the 247Sports composite ranking. Only six (of 19) ranked as Top 200 prospects on the composite ranking (Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, Jordan Botelho, Jayson Ademilola, Jacob Lacey, Rylie Mills). Notre Dame had 10 four-star defensive linemen and 11 three-star players signed along the line.

If you go by recruiting rankings, Notre Dame should have a relatively mediocre front four. The four starters on the 2020 defensive rankled 133rd (Hayes), 472nd (Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa), 519th (Kurt Hinish) and 652nd (Adetokunbo Ogundeji) in the 247Sports composite ranking.

Of course, the film and stats tell a completely different story. Notre Dame finished the season ranked 13th in tackles for loss per game and 16th in rush defense, ahead of Alabama in both categories.

Notre Dame's defensive line was a driving force in the success of the defense this season, and it was their play that set up much of the linebacker production, especially from the inside players. That was true in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as well.

Notre Dame has developed a type that it looks for when it hits the recruiting trail in search of defensive linemen, and it has nothing to do with star rankings. Elston loves length, especially at defensive end. Kareem had the longest wingspan of any defensive end at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, checking in with an 84-inch wingspan, and he had the fourth longest arms (34 3/8") among all defensive linemen. Ogundeji had the longest of both at the Reese's Senior Bowl, measuring in with an 85 3/8-inch wingspan and 35 1/4-inch arms, which were the longest of any DL at the event.

Expect rising junior Isaiah Foskey to have similar measurements, as will 2021 signee Jason Onye.

Beyond star rankings, Elston seems to covet players that have frames that need to be developed. There are raw tools evident with many of the signees, even many of the lower ranked players. What Notre Dame covets most along the defensive line are prospects with high ceilings, and often times that is in the form of a player who will need more time to tap into their frame and potential, which is where the development aspect comes from.

Notre Dame wants quick and athletic players, edge prospects with flexibility, explosiveness and agility. In many ways, finding long and undersized players can work out well, as players like 2021 signee Will Schweitzer, a player barely over 200 pounds, can fit the athletic and length profile, but the lack of size and early projection is going to tamp down the recruiting ranking. Ogundeji was also barely more than 210 pounds when he committed to Notre Dame.

This recruiting strategy won't win many battles on signing day, but if you do it right it can and has proven to be a successful strategy on Saturdays. This is especially true when you have a strength and conditioning program as good as the one Notre Dame has had since Matt Balis was hired.

Notre Dame hasn't shied away from recruiting top prospects that fit what they are looking for, and we've seen top recruits like Mills, Lacey, Jayson Ademilola, Gabriel Rubio and 2022 commit Tyson Ford. But those players must fit the profile that Notre Dame covets. There have been a few exceptions, as we saw with Botelho in the 2020 class, but those exceptions must have traits that negate the lack of length, which Botelho has.

At the end of the day, what Elston has shown is that focusing more about what players can be and not necessarily what they are at the time of their high school signing is a winning strategy if you do it right.

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