Notre Dame Adds PK Joshua Bryan To Its 2021 Class
Notre Dame has landed one of the nation's top kickers, adding Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon kicker Joshua Bryan. The 6-1, 185-pound placekicker had previously been committed to Colorado, but Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian had stayed involved with Bryan for some time and ultimately got the flip.
Bryan made 54-61 extra point attempts as a junior for Sierra Canyon, and he made 11-19 field goal attempts. He is also the punter for Sierra Canyon, but his skills project best to a placekicker/kickoff role.
The last specialist Notre Dame signed Jay Bramblett as part of the 2019 class, but Bramblett wasn't just a punter in high school. The Tuscaloosa, Ala. native was also the team's starting quarterback.
Bryan is from a similar background, having played defense for the Trailblazers. According to MaxPreps, Bryan registered 172 career tackles, made five sacks and picked off two passes during his career.
With current placekicker Jonathan Doerer slated to return for an unexpected fifth season in 2021 the Irish could have passed on this position in the 2021 class. By rightly resisting that temptation, the Irish land one of the top kickers in the 2021 class, but now there is less pressure on Bryan to come in and seize a job as a freshman, which gives the talented young kicker a chance to develop for a season without having to burn a year of eligibility. Also, based on the NCAA's recent ruling, Doerer won't count towards the 85-man scholarship limit next season.
Notre Dame now has 21 commits in the Class of 2021.
To comment below be sure to sign up for a FREE Disqus account, which you can get HERE.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content, our premium message board and gets you a FREE subscription to Sports Illustrated! 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 podcast on iTunes.
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel.
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Parler: @BryanDriskell
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook