Class Impact: Breaking Down Braylon James Commitment To Notre Dame
Notre Dame has landed a big commitment tonight by picking up Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point wide receiver Braylon James. It finally gets Notre Dame on the board with 2023 recruits in the month of April and gives the Irish one of the best players in the country.
This was a big commitment for Notre Dame. Let's break down what it means for the Irish 2023 recruiting class.
NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT
Landing James puts Notre Dame back to nine commitments in the 2023 class. He is the third offensive player to pick the Irish and he's the first wide receiver in the class.
After losing two of its 2022 commits in the days leading up to signing day, the Notre Dame coaching staff entered the 2023 cycle with wide receiver being a very, very important position to fill. The Irish need at least three receivers in the class and a case could be made for four, which means Notre Dame needs a combination of impact players and numbers.
James certainly is a great way to kick off the receiver haul.
Landing James gives Notre Dame a great foundation to build its wide receiver class in 2023. James joining the class also means Notre Dame is one step closer to filling out its receiver haul. That's important because as the wideout class grows there becomes a great sense of urgency for other receivers who might want to join the class.
The hope for Notre Dame's staff is that landing James kicks off some much-needed momentum at the position.
NOTRE DAME FIT
James has the skillset to fit at both outside positions (W, X) in the Notre Dame offense. With the Irish staff hoping to bring in more players that can move around within the offense. James isn't a boundary-only player, and he's not a field-only player, which is important
Breaking down his game, the first thing that stands out is his length. He's listed at 6-3, but his arm length is impressive and he provides quarterbacks with a big target thanks to his wide catch radius.
On top of having top-notch length, James also shows excellent focus and body control in the pass game, which helps project him into an elite contested catch player at the next level. James is still learning the finer points of the position, and at times that impacts his timing, but the tools are special as a pass catcher.
James has emerging speed, and as he's gotten older his speed has really taken off. This winter he ran an electronically timed 4.47 and also jumped 38.4 inches on the vertical and had a broad jump of 130.9 inches. Those are elite jumping numbers and show big-time explosiveness. That 4.47 is impressive enough, but with those jumping numbers you can expect James to get faster and faster as he physically matures.
James also recently ran a 13.9 in the 110-meter hurdles.
That speed flashes on film for James, and that's a big reason he earned a 5.0-star upside grade from me. He's tall, he's long, he is really fast and he's a strong all-around athlete that also shows impressive foot quickness and loose hips.
The point is that he has all the tools to be a home run threat in college, and he has all the physical tools needed to develop into a strong route runner. James just need more coaching and he needs nuance in his game. He's a wide receivers coach's dream because he has so much potential, he just needs that talent to be harnessed. That's why Notre Dame made James such a huge priority in this class and why landing him is so impactful.
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Notre Dame 2022 Roster
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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
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