Notre Dame 2020 Signees: Defense
Notre Dame loaded up on defensive players in the 2018 and 2019 classes, so the numbers in the 2020 class were purposely low. What Notre Dame was looking for instead was more impact players.
The Irish had another strong defensive line class, and although the secondary ultimately came up short, there is some upside in the group. One big need of the 2020 class was landing a snapper, and that need became even greater when John Shannon decided not to return for a fifth season in 2020. Fortunately for the Irish, special teams coordinator Brian Polian landed the nation’s best snapper.
Let’s take a look at the 2020 defensive class and lone special teams signee. (Note: Player comps refer to where those players were coming out of high school and into college, and refer to style of play and skill. Their NFL careers have no bearing)
To read the offensive breakdown, CLICK HERE.
DE Jordan Botelho, 6-2, 229 — Honolulu, Hawaii / Saint Louis
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 nationally)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Player Comp: Kyle Van Noy, BYU
Analysis: Botelho is a unique prospect that has the traits to play on the edge or to line up inside at linebacker. That versatility only adds to his value as a prospect, and it helps ease the decision to not take a linebacker in this class. Should Notre Dame have a need at linebacker down the road, Botelho could easily make the transition.
But Notre Dame recruited Botelho to play on the edge as a drop end, and he fits that position extremely well. He is already a dominant pass rusher as the prep level, and the traits that make him such project well to the drop position at Notre Dame. Botelho has a special motor, and he plays with an edge and intensity that reminds me of another Hawaii native, Manti Te’o.
Botelho uses his speed and power to dominate with speed rushes, and he has a strong rip move and a quick double move inside. He will need to enhance his repertoire at the next level, but all the tools are there; speed, agility, balance, power, length. As his bag of tricks expands, Botelho’s ability to rush the passer will become even more effective.
Botelho projects to have plenty of strength and size to be effective as a run defender, and his ability to get low and explode into blockers is highly effective when setting the edge. His speed and agility allow him to cover a lot of ground, which aids his ability in coverage as much as it does his ability to rush the passer. Notre Dame has talent already on the roster at the position, but that won’t keep Botelho from making it very hard to keep him off the field next season.
DE Alexander Ehrensberger, 6-6½, 239 — Dusseldorf (Germany) Theodor-Flieder
IB Grade: 3.5 (Top 500 nationally)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Player Comp: Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Notre Dame
Analysis: If you know defensive line coach Mike Elston at all you completely understand why Notre Dame took a flier on a German prospect that is about as raw and unknown of a prospect as you will ever see the Irish land. Elston loves tools, he loves upside, and I truly believe he feels he can take tools and upside and mold them into an impact player.
Ehrensberger will have a lot to learn, but this young man has tools that defensive line coaches drool over, and from all accounts he has a tremendous work ethic. At 6-6½ with long arms he has exceptional length, but he has a natural ability to bend and stay low. He is listed at 239 pounds, but he has a frame that should allow him to add at least 25-30 pounds while gaining strength and explosiveness. He has a similar physical upside to current Irish end Ade Ogundeji, but Ehrensberger is even bigger than Ogundeji was as a prep player.
Athletically, Ehrensberger shows the kind of first step you want in an impact playmaker. He explodes off the ball and has the speed to get around the edge as a power rusher, and the quickness to shoot gaps and get immediate penetration. He’ll need to get a lot stronger and learn to use his hands much better, but if he can gain the necessary strength and weight he has the makings of a playmaker at the strong side end position.
Ehrensberger has a natural feel for the game, and once his technique catches up to his raw tools he could be a difference maker, but he will likely need time to get to that level.
DT Aidan Keanaaina, 6-3, 302 — Brighton, Colo. / J.K. Mullen
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 300 nationally)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Player Comp: Jerel Worthy, Michigan State
Analysis: Notre Dame has done quite well in recent seasons by adding athletic, penetrating interior defensive linemen. But the Irish have an undersized group of defensive tackles, so there was a need for a big, wide, physical run stopper that it can plug into the middle of the defense. That is exactly what Keanaaina is, and beating out Ohio State and Alabama for his services was huge for the Irish.
Keanaaina is a power player that does his best work against the run. He has a thick, squatty build and powerful legs. When he stays low and comes off the line well he dominates as a space eater, showing the ability to anchor against double teams and drive blockers into the backfield in one-on-one situations. Keanaaina has powerful hands and he knows how to use them effectively.
The 6-3, 302-pound nose tackle shows good foot quickness and vertical speed. His lateral speed isn’t as good, but when playing on the inside that isn’t overly detrimental to his ability to make plays. I like how quickly he closes on the football for such a big player, which is why he made so many plays at the prep level, and why he projects to eventually be more than just a plugger in the Irish defense.
Like all young players he’ll need to be more consistent from snap-to-snap, but Keanaaina has all the traits you want in an impact big man: size, a strong lower body, powerful hands, quick feet and the ability to play with leverage. Once he gets into a college weight room you’ll see Keanaaina’s game really take off as he reshapes his body. That will also make him an even more disruptive player.
DL Rylie Mills, 6-4½, 250 — Lake Bluff, Ill. / Lake Forest
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 nationally)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Player Comp: James Lynch, Baylor
Analysis: Notre Dame made Mills a top priority back when he was a sophomore, and line coach Mike Elston had to beat out Ohio Stat and Wisconsin to land him. Mills is a versatile defender that could play inside or outside in the Irish defense, and the diversity only adds to his value as a prospect. Mills brings a size/power/athleticism combination that Notre Dame wants more of in its defense.
Mills has a thick, athletic frame that should allow him to easily get to at least 290 pounds, if not more. Just as important, Mills has long arms and a powerful lower body, a combination that allows him to lock out blockers and get a push into the backfield. He does a great job keeping his pads low and shooting his hands into blockers, and when he does that he gets tremendous movement. Elston has done well developing players with long arms like Mills, so I expect this to become a tremendous asset for the talented big man.
What makes Mills such a top prospect is the athletic traits he combines with that size and power. Mills shows an excellent burst at the snap, showing the ability to consistently beat offensive linemen off the ball. His athletic skills are even better when working in shorter areas, which is why he projects so well to defensive tackle or as a power edge player.
Mills has the power and mass to anchor against the run and the quickness to penetrate and disrupt the backfield. Those traits fit well at both defensive end and defensive tackle in the run game. As a pass rusher, however, Mills’ skills are at their best when he’s inside. His power moves up the middle are already top-notch, and if he learns to better use his hands to shoot gaps and get off blocks Mills has the same interior pass rush potential that former All-American Jerry Tillery brought to the defense.
CB Ramon Henderson, 6-3, 180 — Bakersfield, Calif. / Liberty
IB Grade: 3.5 (Top 400 nationally)
Upside Grade: 4.5
Player Comp: Cordrea Tankersley, Clemson
Analysis: When Notre Dame first offered and made a push for Henderson I criticized it. I was adamant the staff was making a mistake passing on other players for Henderson. After breaking down senior film of Henderson it’s easy to see why the staff felt the opposite of how I did.
Henderson has always been a top-flight track athlete, with a personal best of 10.59 in the 100-meter dash and 21.67 in the 200-meter dash. Consider that Notre Dame sophomore speedster Braden Lenzy had a personal best of 10.82 in the 100-meters in high school. Henderson’s junior film did not show that kind of speed, and Henderson often looked out of place in pads, especially on defense. His senior film showed a completely different player, with Henderson looking far more comfortable as a football player on both sides of the ball.
As his technique improved you could see Henderson open and run with ease, and that kind of clean transition ability is not something you often see in such a long athlete. Combine that with high-end speed and elite length and Henderson has the tools to develop into a top cover player down the road.
There is work to be done from a technical standpoint, and that is what drags his grade down right now. I don’t see the consistent ball skills of a more experienced player, and Henderson will need to get a lot stronger and improve his tackling quite a bit. But when you have a player that runs like this, moves like this and has the kind of length Henderson brings to the table you take him without hesitation.
CB Clarence Lewis, 6-0, 180 — Edison, N.J. / Mater Dei
IB Grade: 3.5 (Top 400 nationally)
Upside Grade: 4.0
Player Comp: Gareon Conley, Ohio State
Analysis: Like Kevin Bauman on offense, there just isn’t a lot of film available on Lewis. I have yet to see a full game of him as a senior, and the lack of game film will drop his grade a bit more than usual. But what I do see on the junior game film and from his highlight clips is a player with the tools that Notre Dame covets in a cornerback.
Lewis has length, quickness, loose hips and he’s physical. Notre Dame also puts a premium on two-way players, and Lewis was an all-state wide receiver for Mater Dei. The ball skills and length that make him a standout high school wide receiver project incredibly well at cornerback. Listed around 6-0, Lewis has better length than your typical 6-0 defender. That length makes him a much harder target to throw around, and it gives him the ability to recover a bit easier than a shorter defender.
Once Lewis starts focusing just on defense his technique will make much-needed improvements. One that happens his game should take off, and Lewis should start to tap into his upside rather quickly. He’s a savvy football player that has a knack for making plays on both sides of the ball. A lot of the things he does well on defense he does on just natural ability and instincts, so there is certainly a need for more technical advancement.
Lewis must fill out his frame and get stronger, but he’s a willing tackler and he’s physical with the ball in his hands on offense. He high points the ball effectively as a wide receiver and he gets off the ground quickly, which should combine with his length to make him a good downfield ball defender at the next level.
CB/S Caleb Offord, 6-1, 170 — Southaven, Miss. / Southaven
IB Grade: 3.0
Upside Grade: 3.5
Player Comp: Robert Blanton, Notre Dame
Analysis: I get why Notre Dame took a chance on Offord, and I get why the staff was willing to look past the holes in his game. Offord is your prototypical low-floor/high-ceiling defensive back target. My concern, and why he ranks so low on my board, is there is a long gap between where he is now and where he needs to be to contribute at Notre Dame.
But the reasons why the staff took him are obvious, and the first is Offord has truly elite length. The reports I’ve received are Offord checked in with 34-inch arms, which is rare for a defensive back. That’s length you expect from a lineman, not a 6-1, 170-pound corner. For context purposes, Vanderbilt cornerback Joejuan Williams - who is 6-4 and was a 2nd round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft - measured in at the Scouting Combine with 32½-inch arms.
Offord has a strong, athletic body, and the hope for Notre Dame is that he’ll add more strength and size to that long frame. He uses his length effectively when playing man coverage, and when the rest of his press technique improves he should be able to use that length to overcome areas where he isn't as strong. One concern I see with Offord is he doesn’t show great route recognition in man coverage.
Right now Offord is all about projection as both a corner and safety prospect. His technique leaves a lot to be desired, and it often gets him in trouble by creating slow transitions and by putting him out of place when he needs to plant and drive. That lack of efficiency from a footwork standpoint makes him look slow. On the snaps where he keeps a good base and shows clean technique you see a player with good speed and change of direction skills.
LS Alex Peitsch, 6-1, 205 — Ellicott City, Md. / St. John’s College (DC)
Analysis: Peitsch is an athletic snapper with a good frame. His short snaps are accurate, his long snaps travel a straight line with a lot of zip, and he has the athleticism and size to develop into a quality tackler on punts. He is ranked by Kohl's kicking as the No. 1 snapper in the entire country. Landing Peitsch was huge for Notre Dame. The only concern I have at this time is that Peitsch was listed at just 205 on the December signing day, so he’ll need to fill out and get stronger between now and September.
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