"Big Three" Has Notre Dame Poised For A Program Changing Recruiting Class

Notre Dame is trying to make the jump from being a really good program to a championship caliber program, with the hopes of actually bringing another title to South Bend. To make that happen obviously there need to be many changes, but improving recruiting - and developing those players when they arrive on campus - is a must.

If you go back over the years teams that have made similar jumps have been able to string together back-to-back outstanding classes, with one serving as sort of a "program changing" class.

Notre Dame landed its best class in almost a decade during the 2022 cycle, and that followed a pair of classes that had several potential impact players, albeit the classes had more holes than desired. The high-upside talent of the 2020 and 2021 classes combines with the outstanding and balanced 2022 class to give the Irish a very strong foundation to build upon.

Notre Dame is now in position with the 2023 class to land the kind of generational, program-changing type of class that serves as the final catalyst to the program getting to the top of the mountain.

The Irish program has been here before, but past coaches and staffs were unable to do what it took to take the final steps. There is renewed optimism that Notre Dame can actually get it done this time.

That optimism surrounds what head coach Marcus Freeman has brought to the program. He serves as sort of a "big three" at Notre Dame that is leading the current charge, which not only drove Notre Dame's highly ranked 2022 class, that group is also a primary reason Notre Dame currently is off to its best recruiting start in decades.

MARCUS FREEMAN

The "big three" obviously comes from the term used in basketball going all the way back to the days of the Boston Celtics from the 1980s.

What was true of the Celtics back in the 1980s and was true of the Golden State Warriors in the last decade, while the "big three" were asked to carry the largest burdens, had the most pressure and got much of the praise when things went well (and blame when they don't), they were always supported by others who were just as important to those title runs, albeit often without the same fanfare.

Yes, Freeman is an excellent recruiter, something he has already proven, but even more important is making sure he surrounds himself with coaches who also embrace Notre Dame's uniqueness, coaches who are willing to go to battle - and win - against the best coaches and programs in the country.

That is the only way for Notre Dame to turn the final corner.

His offensive hires (Harry Hiestand, Deland McCullough, Gerad Parker) either arrived with outstanding recruiting reputations, or in the case of Chansi Stuckey, they are quickly establishing one.

Defensive coordinator Al Golden was considered one of the best recruiters in the business during his assistant coaching days in college. Defensive line coach Al Washington is fresh off signing a linebacker class at Ohio State that only Freeman's haul at Notre Dame could match.

Freeman has hired a group of coaches that have embraced his vision of Notre Dame, which is the program can and must go anywhere to land the best players in the country.

CHAD BOWDEN

One of the first big influences Freeman had on the Notre Dame program was convincing the former head coach to bring in Chad Bowden as the director of recruiting on defense.

Bowden worked closely with Freeman at Cincinnati, and sources indicated to Irish Breakdown back when Freeman was initially hired to coach the defense that Bowden coming with him was a must.

After one season overseeing a defensive class that was arguably the program's best on that side of the ball in at least a decade, Bowden is now the director of recruiting, overseeing recruiting for the entire program.

Bowden, like Freeman, is a tireless worker and does far more than organizing recruiting efforts. He takes a very hands on approach with recruits. It seems as if every time one of the IB reporters writers a story with quotes from a recruit you hear Bowden's name come up.

Also like Freeman, Bowden isn't afraid to battle any program for a recruit the staff wants. He's completely bought into the notion that Notre Dame can and should be able to go anywhere for any recruit it wants and win those battles.

It's not a coincidence that Notre Dame has recruited as well as any program in the country since Freeman and Bowden arrived on campus.

Sound familiar?

For Notre Dame fans my age and older the role that Bowden serves and the work he has put in on the recruiting trail sounds a lot like what Vinny Cerrato (1986-90) did for Lou Holtz.

TOMMY REES

Defensive recruiting has been outstanding since Freeman arrived, but the other side of the ball has been far more up-and-down. Of Notre Dame's nine commits in the 2023 class just two are on offense, and the 2022 class came up short on numbers at wide receiver, which kept the class from being even better. The 2021 class was loaded with talented offensive players, although several committed while Chip Long was still the coordinator.

As the offensive coordinator it is ultimately on Tommy Rees' shoulders to get things turned around. For his part, Rees has really come into his own as a recruiter over the last year. Much of the success Notre Dame did have in the 2022 class was because of him.

Now that he enters his third season as the offensive coordinator Rees has more of a resume to use on the trail, and he's developing into a force on the trail.

Rees and Freeman put together a staff that should add far, far more impact recruiting value on the offensive side of the ball. Unlike past seasons, Rees won't have to go it alone on offense. You're seeing Stuckey have a greater impact at wide receiver than we've seen in past seasons, and he seems like a great fit for Notre Dame as a coach and recruiter. Having Bowden more involved with offense should help as well.

For his part, Rees needs to sell the heck out of his vision for the offense, and his commitment to Notre Dame. He also has to do what it takes to make sure Notre Dame closes on five-star quarterback Dante Moore. Up to this point he and Bowden have done a great job with Moore, and adding him to the class is a must.

If they are able to close the deal with Moore, Rees and the offensive staff need to put a group of commits around him that would allow the Irish to match the impact we are seeing come in on defense.

I have no doubt that Freeman, Bowden, defensive coordinator Al Golden, Al Washington, Mike Mickens and Chris O'Leary will work to land another elite defensive haul. If Rees and the offensive staff can match that Notre Dame will have the kind of program changing recruiting class needed to finally make that final jump and put a roster on the field capable of not only competing for, but winning a championship.

Yes, Notre Dame needs to show it can win games under Freeman, and we'll start to get our answer to that this fall. But as we've learned over the years, ultimate success is determined by not only having a great group of coaches running the development aspects, it's also about having coaches who are equally effective at adding talent to the roster.

With Freeman, Rees and Bowden leading the way on the recruiting trail, and with the staff Freeman has put together, Notre Dame is poised to do things we haven't seen in a very long time in South Bend.

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Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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