Chansi Stuckey Is Building Something Special At Notre Dame

When Chansi Stuckey was hired to coach Notre Dame's receivers over a year ago the Fighting Irish had zero commitments at the position, the depth chart had been depleted by departures, poor development and injuries, and prospects for the 2023 class were a bit bleak.

Fans had no idea what to expect from Stuckey either. The Georgia native had been a college football coach for just one season, and he had yet to complete a full recruiting cycle at Baylor, where he was prior to being hired by Marcus Freeman.

Of all the hires Freeman made when building his first staff, Stuckey was clearly the biggest risk and the biggest unknown. Stuckey hasn't been at Notre Dame for even a year and a half, and he's already answered every question I had about him, and he's in the process of building something special.

RECRUITING SUCCESS

Stuckey is building something special at Notre Dame, and it starts with his ability as a recruiter. No coach goes it alone at Notre Dame, not with Freeman in charge, but the position coach must be the driven. Stuckey has certainly done that in very short order.

Notre Dame didn't have a single wideout committed when he was hired, and the Irish didn't have a quarterback in the 2023 class until November. Failure by the previous coach to build strong connections made it even tougher for Stuckey to put a class together, but he overcame those obstacles and landed one of the nation's best wide receiver hauls.

Stuckey got Notre Dame started by landing Texas standout Braylon James in April. That got Stuckey off to a strong start, and he used the relationship he built with James at Baylor to ultimately land him at Notre Dame. James gave the Irish a Top 100 talent and a home run threat on the perimeter.

Three months later, Stuckey went out West and landed Rico Flores Jr., who was down to the Irish, Ohio State and Georgia. Flores racked up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Folsom (Calif.) High School, and he was one of the more polished wideouts in the nation.

Less than two weeks later Stuckey dipped back into Texas, this time landing Jaden Greathouse, one of the most prolific wide receivers I've ever scouted. Greathouse was also a Top 100 talent after dominating at Austin (Texas) Westlake.

Stuckey rounded the class out with another Texas standout when he flipped Kaleb Smith from Texas Tech. A shifty player with speed, Smith brought a unique dynamic to the receiver class, giving the Irish a complementary four-man class that helped restock what had become a painfully thin depth chart.

That was quite the first impression for Stuckey, who landed one of the nation's best group of pass catchers in less than a year. He landed speed, he landed polished players, he landed after the catch performers. Stuckey's first class was balanced and diverse, which is exactly what was needed. Two members of that class earned 5.0-star upside grades from Irish Breakdown, and all four earned at least 4.0-star grades.

Every coach at Notre Dame can land a good class here and there. What Notre Dame needs at wide receiver, desperately so, is to stack those classes on top of each other. That is something we have not seen much of at Notre Dame the last decade. Outside of the 2015-16 classes - which gave Notre Dame Chase Claypool, Miles Boykin, Equanimeous St. Brown, Javon McKinley, Kevin Stepherson and CJ Sanders - we have not seen Notre Dame consistently land top wideouts.

Stuckey is changing that in a hurry.

He's following up his outstanding first recruiting haul with one that is every bit as good.

Stuckey kicked off the class last summer when he landed Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South star wideout Cam Williams, who is now considered a five-star recruit. A dynamic vertical threat, Williams gives the Irish a player with a strong all-around game and big play speed.

Notre Dame went over eight months without getting another commitment, but in less than two weeks Stuckey has struck big.

Commitment number two is Isiah Canion, who is from the same hometown (Warner Robins, Ga.) as Stuckey. A bit of a do-it-all player in high school, Canion has an incredibly skillset and upside. At 6-3 and almost 200 pounds, Canion also brings home run ability to the class, but he also has the strength and ball skills to be a volume player.

The most recent pickup is Charlotte (N.C.) Christian wideout Micah Gilbert, a physical volume pass catcher that is a great complement to Williams and Canion.

In just 13 months, Stuckey has landed seven players that grade out as 4.0-star recruits on the IB board, and four of them earned 5.0-star upside grades. Four of the seven earned Top 100 prospect rankings on the IB board as well. Six of the seven earned four-star grades from the national recruiting services.

This is certainly the kind of stacking of big time talent at wide receiver that Notre Dame has lacked, and needs if it's going to have an offense capable of competing for championships. It's the beginning of something special for Stuckey and the Notre Dame receiving corps, and Notre Dame is quickly becoming a force when it comes to wide receiver recruiting.

DEVELOPMENT WILL BE SEEN IN 2023

Recruiting is just step one, and talent can only take a team so far. The nation's best teams aren't just strong at recruiting, they also develop at a high level.

Stuckey did a good job in this department in his first season. Notre Dame's wideouts improved throughout the season, but there is another level he must get to when it comes to coaching and development. He had a young and thin depth chart a year ago, but that will not be the case in 2023. There will still be youth, but the 2021 class is now more experienced, the Irish moved Chris Tyree to wideout, and the freshman class provides impact ability.

Stuckey is working with a much deeper and more talented group in 2023. Notre Dame also has a much, much more experienced and talented passer set to throw balls to the Irish pass catchers. Stuckey's ability to match his excellent recruiting with development of his current group will go a long way toward's determining if Notre Dame can have a dynamic offense in 2023.

He'll have his work cut out for him even with the talent Notre Dame returns. Stuckey must push the proper buttons with his group, including getting sophomore Tobias Merriweather to grow up in a hurry, to get Deion Colzie to play with greater consistency and fire, and to get Tyree comfortable as a full-time wideout.

Finding the best ways to move Jayden Thomas around and to get the freshmen ready to play are also very important keys, although Thomas is easily the most steady and certain of the pass catchers.

If the spring game is any indication of where things stand, there should be a great deal of confidence in expanding the ways Thomas is used, and the freshmen impressed. The key now is getting Merriweather, Colzie and Tyree on track.

If Stuckey coaches in the fall like he has recruited most of this will happen, and the Notre Dame offense is going to be very, very fun to watch.

Watching the wide receivers play and following the recruiting at the position has certainly become far, far more entertaining under Stuckey's watch.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

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

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