Notre Dame Commit Profile: Defensive Tackle Owen Wafle
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Notre Dame has one of the nation's best classes in 2024, and the player that has been in the class the longest is defensive lineman Owen Wafle. A breakout season in 2022 has raised Wafle's profile, and has only made landing him so early that much more important.
OWEN WAFLE PROFILE
Hometown/High School: Princeton, N.J./The Hun School
Height/Weight: 6-3, 290
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Player Comp: Derek Landri, Notre Dame
2022 Stats: 64 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 7 QB hurries, 3 forced fumbles (9 games)
2021 Stats: 47 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 4 QB hurries (9 games)
Recruited By: Al Washington
Offers: Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Boston College, Iowa, Cincinnati, Illinois, West Virginia, Minnesota, Duke, Maryland, Syracuse, Rutgers, Vanderbilt
RECRUITING RANKINGS
Rivals: 4-star - No. 15 Defensive Tackle
ESPN: 4-star - No. 32 Defensive End
247Sports: 3-star - No. 20 Edge
On3: 3-star - No. 73 Defensive Line
247Sports Composite: 4-star - No. 399 overall - No. 30 Edge
On3 Consensus: 3-star - No. 405 overall - No. 36 DL
FILM ANALYSIS
I must admit, when I first watched Wafle's film when we learned that Notre Dame was going to land him I wasn't blown away. He was a high-motor young defender that showed some promise, but he didn't knock my socks off. Wafle struck me as a great attitude player that would play his tail off and give great effort, but I didn't see different maker skills. Wafle was a bit short, he was light and although he did some good things on film, he wasn't a dominant defender.
Things changed in 2022.
Wafle saw a jump physically, and that as much as anything else jumped up his current grade. Listed around 6-2 and 270 pounds when he committed to Notre Dame, Wafle is now up to about 6-3 and 290 pounds. His upper body has really filled out, and Wafle shows a thick and powerful core. What surprised me about Wafle is his length for a player that doesn't have great height. His natural leverage and outstanding length were just two factors that allowed Wafle to dominate as a junior.
The Hun School star went from 5 tackles for loss and 1 sack as a sophomore, to 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks as a junior. Both of those outcomes were done in just 9 games.
Wafle also saw a jump athletically. Wafle played inside a lot more in 2022, and when moved over guards and centers his jump in quickness allowed him to dominate at the point of attack. On top of having a great motor, Wafle showed an impressive burst off the line. He blew past defenders constantly and was extremely hard to block. Wafle also showed top-notch closing speed in the backfield.
NOTRE DAME FIT
The fit for Wafle is a bit interesting. Right now he is better suited to play three-technique due to his lack of girth. He shows the penetration/disruptive skills to be a playmaker up the middle, evidenced by his 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2022 despite his team playing just nine games. I could see a scenario in which Wafle also gets work over the center as a penetrating nose tackle in the way Notre Dame uses Howard Cross. The good part here is Wafle will have much better size and power than Cross brings to the position.
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