Notre Dame Has Become A Dominant Offensive Recruiting Force
When Marcus Freeman was hired as the next head coach at Notre Dame the assumption, understandably, was that defensive recruiting for the Irish was about to take a big jump. This was especially true when you looked at the talented 2022 defensive class, which Freeman fueled as the defensive coordinator.
Ironically, there has been a big jump in recruiting under Freeman, but it hasn't been the defense. Notre Dame has seen a huge jump in offensive recruiting success since Freeman arrived. That was the topic of conversation in the latest Irish Breakdown Midweek Rundown.
There are plenty of reasons why, including Notre Dame finally having a head coach that was willing to make recruiting the priority it needed to be. You had a head coach, and staff, that stopped making excuses about what Notre Dame lacked and then put in the work to land the best class possible.
Freeman made outstanding recruiting hires as well. Tommy Rees and Gerad Parker have both been impactful as leaders of the offense and at their positions. Deland McCullough and Chansi Stuckey were home run hires so far, and Harry Hiestand picked up where he left off. His replacement - Joe Rudolph - has had solid results so far, but he's a Guerby Lambert commitment away from proving his recruiting worth as well.
Quarterback recruiting had been an issue for several seasons, but the Irish have landed Kenny Minchey (2023) and CJ Carr (2024) in back to back classes. Minchey earned a Top 100 grade on the Irish Breakdown board, and Carr grades as out as a five-star recruit. Landing two talented players in back-to-back classes obviously builds up the depth chart, but it also widens the margin for error at the position.
Whoever emerges at quarterback will have plenty of talented weapons to throw to. Notre Dame has landed seven receivers in the last two classes, and all of them earned a 4.0-star grade or higher on the Irish Breakdown board, including four that earned Top 100 grades. Those four would be Braylon James and Jaden Greathouse in the 2023 class, and both Cam Williams and Isiah Canion in the 2024 class.
In the past landing a group that included only Rico Flores Jr., Kaleb Smith and Micah Gilbert would have been outstanding enough, even without the more highly ranked players. That kind of depth is important, but from a roster building standpoint there is a great deal of skillset diversity in that group. That is an ideal place to be for Parker and Stuckey.
It wasn't that long ago that Notre Dame had to deal with a thin depth chart at running back, with the program constantly an injury away from being in a really tough spot. The 2021-22 hauls at running back were strong, but McCullough has taken things to an even higher level.
Jeremiyah Love (2023) had an outstanding senior season and jumped up as a Top 100 recruit nationally, including earning a Top 50 caliber recruit grade on the IB board. The 2024 two-man haul is outstanding, with Aneyas Williams being one of the nation's best all-around backs and Texas star Kedren Young is one of the best pure runners in the 2024 class. Young also earned a Top 100 grade on the Irish Breakdown board.
Notre Dame landed a pair of quality tight ends in the two classes, bringing in 2023 standout Cooper Flanagan and Jack Larsen in the 2024 class.
Offensive line recruiting is still a work in progress, but that's not really a position most worry about, especially after the quality five-man haul a year ago. That group was led by five-star tackle Charles Jagusah, and if Rudolph can finish the 202 class off with Lambert the blockers will equal the skill talent.
Just like that Notre Dame has acquired the kind of offensive talent needed to put an elite offense on the field. Now it's up to the staff to develop this talent. If they do watching Notre Dame football is going to be fun to watch in future seasons.
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
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
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook