Class Impact: Breaking Down The Commitment Of Kennedy Urlacher To Notre Dame

Notre Dame has picked up a commitment from Chandler (Ariz.) High School safety Kennedy Urlacher. It kicks off the Notre Dame safety class and allows the Irish to once again dip into the very important state of Arizona.

Let's break down what the commitment of Urlacher means to the Notre Dame 2024 class and the Fighting Irish depth chart.

NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT

Urlacher is the 13th player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2024 class. He is also the 6th defensive player in the class, the 3rd member of the secondary and the first safety to join the Notre Dame 2024 class.

Urlacher joins Texas cornerback Leonard Moore and Ohio cornerback Karson Hobbs in the 2024 class. He is the third defensive player to commit to Notre Dame in the last two weeks, joining Georgia defensive end Cole Mullins and North Carolina edge Bryce Young.

Notre Dame whiffed at safety in the 2022 class, and the one player that could have moved there from that class - Jayden Bellamy - transferred out after just one semester. Notre Dame had four different safeties commit in the 2023 cycle, but only Adon Shuler and Ben Minich ended up in the class. With just two safeties on the roster from two classes, the Irish needed at least three safeties in the 2024 class.

Landing Urlacher helps kick off the safety class, and getting a player in the class this early allows the staff to start narrowing its focus just a bit. With at least two more safeties needed that narrowing can't be too great, but at least Urlacher gets things started off well and adds an important piece to the class.

Notre Dame has also made an attempt to prioritize Arizona much more on the recruiting trail. Recent signees include 2022 freshman All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison and offensive tackle Tosh Baker. The Irish would like to add at least one more player from Arizona in the 2024 class.

NOTRE DAME FIT

Notre Dame likes to use its safeties in an interchangeable manner, and Urlacher fits that mold. Although he can do a little bit of everything, right now his game is ideally suited to be a defender that plays the alleys. He'll need to add weight and fill out his frame, but Urlacher is a strong young athlete that loves to lay punishment on offenses

That ability to fly downhill, be a force against the run and intimidate pass catchers coming into his zone will be a strong addition to the Irish safety depth chart. Urlacher needs to clean up his tackling technique and at times he'll play out of control, but when his technique is right his athleticism and strength combination allow him to be an impact tackler. That is something Notre Dame certainly needs more of, with the Irish safeties struggling at times as tacklers the last few seasons.

Urlacher is a fluid athlete that shows well above average speed. His father - Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher - had a huge growth spurt when he got into college. We'll see if Kennedy has a chance to have a similar physical jump, but he should at least add a lot of weight room strength and power, which will make him an even greater force. He should also see another jump in speed, and that's already a quality part of his game.

The Chandler star spends most of his time coming downhill, so we don't see him in man coverage all that much, but he will spend time playing over the top. He shows good open and run skills and shows good range over top of the defense. The same skills that allow him to cover a lot of grown going downhill are the same skills he has to cover ground when playing off the hash.

His coverage game needs work from a technical and experience standpoint, but the tools are there. His combination of instincts, range, physicality and tackling ability are why he grades out as a 4.0-star recruit on the Irish Breakdown board.

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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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