Grading The 2022 Notre Dame Recruiting Class

Notre Dame has wrapped up its early signing class and it will likely finish as one of the nation's ten best classes. There is still a chance for Notre Dame to add to the class by the time we get to February, but there are grades to hand out based on what the staff has accomplished so far in the class.

We already broke down the offense, and now it's time to grade the Notre Dame defensive class.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Grade: B+
Signees: DE Tyson Ford, DE Aiden Gobaira, DT Donovan Hinish

Notre Dame needed at least two edge players and at least one interior defender, and the staff met those needs. The edge group earned an A- but the interior wasn't quite as good, but it's still a very good group.

Ford earned the highest upside grade in the class for me and he has a chance to be a star. He's a big (6-5, 260), athletic and highly disruptive edge player that reminds me a great deal of former Notre Dame star Stephon Tuitt. If he puts in the work Ford has a chance to be a special talent, and he graded out as a Top 100 recruit on the IB Board.

Gobaira is another very long, big and athletic edge player that could play big end or the Vyper position. Gobaira is a high motor player that like Ford plays with a ton of swagger and fire. But he's not a big-time prospect because he's an effort player, Gobaira is dominant because he is a very talented player as well.

Hinish is the lowest graded recruit in the class, and if you look at his on paper resume (height, weight, production, rankings) this is a bit of a head scratching pickup for Notre Dame. But if you feel that way I'd encourage you to pop on 2021 Notre Dame film and watch #41 on the defensive line. The younger Hinish isn't quite as big as his brother but he's a better athlete.

LINEBACKER

Grade: A+
Signee: Josh Burnham, Jaylen Sneed, Niuafe Tuihalamaka, Nolan Ziegler

There are a few really, really good linebacker classes around the country but I would not trade Notre Dame's group for any of them. This is a deep, long, high productive and talented group of linebackers that can all play together. Notre Dame needed to greatly enhance the depth at linebacker, but it also needed to add more length and speed, and this class accomplished all of that.

Both Sneed and Burnham graded out as Top 100 recruits on the IB board and both are Top 100 recruits according to SI All-American. Sneed is a consensus Top 100 recruit, but beyond the rankings this tandem is special. Burnham is long and a freaky athlete that rushed for 1,516 yards and 29 touchdowns as a quarterback. Sneed also rushed for 815 yards and 11 touchdowns as a quarterback as well.

That duo is freaky athletically, and so is Nolan Ziegler, who caught 67 passes for 1,343 yards as a wide receiver. All three are incredibly long, incredibly versatile and incredibly athletic. Then you have Junior Tuihalamaka, who racked up 126 tackles and 22 tackles for loss as a senior. He's the thumper, he's the hammer in a group of speed guys.

This is without a doubt the best top-to-bottom linebacker class to sign with Notre Dame in well over a decade, if not longer.

CORNERBACK

Grade: A
Signee: Jaden Mickey, Benjamin Morrison

This will most likely be my most controversial grade, but this comes down to having an evaluation of Morrison and Mickey that is different from most. I also feel that Notre Dame met its need in the class. After landing four cornerbacks last season the need was only for two, and I believe Notre Dame landed two outstanding players that are great fits for the defense.

My grade for Mickey is similar to others, but I love his fit in the defense. He's not the biggest, but he's not close to being small. He can play the field position and he could play the nickel, and he has a chance to play both very early on. His compete level is as good as anyone in the class, and its hard not to see the similarities between Mickey and former Irish All-American Julian Love, although Mickey is better in man coverage.

The difference in my grade and what I assume others might have is the evaluation and grade for Morrison. I gave him a Top 100 grade after his dominant senior seasons. I love his size, his instincts are excellent and he makes a lot of plays. As a senior his speed and ability to close took a jump, and that is what bumped his upside grade up to 5.0-star status. He might need some time but I believe he has star potential.

If I'm right about Morrison this is an A class, if I'm wrong about Morrison this is more of a B to B+ class.

SAFETY

Grade: C+
Signee: Jayden Bellamy

Notre Dame came up short at safety, which means Bellamy will almost assuredly have to play safety somewhat early in his career, if not right away. Notre Dame failed to get an impact player in the class, which means safety is the only position on defense where Notre Dame failed to land that kind of player.

Bellamy is a quality player that can run, so this is by no means a bad pickup. This is a good pickup, but it's not a needle moving pickup. The need for a second safety isn't as great due to moving Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts in season, but I would have liked to see the staff land a bit more of a pure safety.

That's not a knock on Bellamy, but one of the things I like about his game is his versatility, but coming up short with another safety, or another hybrid player (which Devin Moore would have been) means the staff might not be able to be as flexible with Bellamy.

GRADE KEY

A — Elite / College Football Playoff caliber
B — Outstanding / Top 15 caliber
C — Solid / Borderline Top 25 caliber
D — Subpar / Not good enough
F — Disaster

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - 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.

BECOME A MEMBER

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

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter