Notre Dame Embracing Hybrid Players Continues To Pay Off On The Recruiting Trail

The athlete designation of recruiting is always an interesting conversation, and it's becoming more and more relevant. Potential recruits who could offer upside at multiple positions is an exciting proposition, although one that can come with some major question marks and skepticism.

There is a major difference between players considered hybrids and tweeners. In recruiting, we are looking for the former. Hybrids are those players who could potentially excel at multiple positions and roles. Tweeners, on the other hand, are players who do not necessarily fit well into any position ideally, either due to their physical stature or not having a clean positional fit.

They can get stuck in a grey area where production at any spot might not warrant an expanded amount of opportunities.

AN EVOLVING PHILOSOPHY

Notre Dame seems to have embraced finding those hybrids, athletes whose long term outlook will work itself out as they develop. This strategy can work to not pigeonhole players into one role, instead to embrace possibilities.

Every program has their success stories with multifaceted athletes finding their niche. Then, there are some instances of whether positional uncertainty may have clouded the vision.

These types of players also make putting a class together quite interesting. They can bring great value, but also can make it challenging to fill all the needs.

PAST EXAMPLES

Working back all the way to the 2010 recruiting class, Notre Dame had interest in then Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola athlete, and current Minnesota Vikings star, Anthony Barr. There was a great debate over whether Barr would be best on the offensive side of the football, (where he did spend the beginning of his career as a running back) or if he would outgrow the position to either tight end or the defensive side of the football. Of course, Barr would eventually develop into one of the premier pass rushers in all of college football for UCLA.

Two years later Notre Dame recruited an athlete out of Washington. That would be KeiVarae Russell, who the Irish staff initially recruited as a running back, but injuries forced Russell to defense, where he started at cornerback as a true freshman for a team that went 12-1. Notre Dame went 31-6 in games Russell started, and after completing his career in South Bend he was a third round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs.

That same year Notre Dame recruited an athlete from Woodberry Forest (Va.) School. That athlete, CJ Prosise, began his Irish career as a safety before moving to receiver. Over two seasons at wideout the athletic Prosise hauled in 36 passes for 588 yards. As a senior, injuries forced Prosise to running back, a position he didn't even play in high school. Prosise responded with 1,029 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns for the Irish before becoming a third round pick of the Seattle Seahawks.

The examples aren't all positive for Notre Dame.

We saw a similar situation in the 2017 cycle, where New London (Conn.) Lawrence Academy boasted a powerful running back by the name of A.J. Dillon. The Irish were viewed as a major player for Dillon, especially with his connection to his grandfather, former Notre Dame legend Thom Gatewood.

Again, there was some questions about whether Dillon would eventually outgrow the running back position and settle on the defensive side of the football. Notre Dame passed on Dillon, choosing instead to sign CJ Holmes. Of course, Dillon would develop into one of the top running backs in college football over his three year stint with Boston College before now suiting up for the Green Bay Packers.

Dillon finished his BC career with 4,382 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns.

Former Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo is another interesting case of positional flexibility in the 2017 class. At one time, the Mansfield (Texas) product was committed to the Irish to play wide receiver. Obviously the talented athlete eventually decommitted, eventually signing with the Cardinal to play at the cornerback position. After struggling through some inconsistencies and durability issues during the latter stages of his college career, Adebo would eventually get selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

A VISION TO ACTION

Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand is one that has always embraced players finding their best fits while a part of the program. As he led the unit to a rise as “Offensive Line U”, he made it a habit of taking long athletes on the offensive line and finding the best five.

That development plan may have some question marks - but the long term outlook more than pays off if you trust your support and coaching staff to develop properly. People get to headstrong over “finding x number of interior lineman”, finding a perfect fit for “X, Y and slot receiver.” Instead, find the athletes and let them decide their development and decide their own fit.

We have seen some evidence of that strategy taking effect in the Notre Dame program recently. After beginning his career as a wide receiver, junior Xavier Watts made the move over to the safety position, where he showed some nice potential during the 2021 season. With expectations that Watts could become a standout at either spot he chooses, the staff has now given the talented athlete the choice on where he would like to align next season. That option speaks volumes to the caliber of athlete of Watts.

That strategy has again played itself out on the recruiting trail. One example would be Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne and Nichols School athlete Ronan Hanafin. Offered as an athlete, Hanafin has the type of athletic profile that could allow him to fit potentially at wide receiver, safety or rover potentially. Again, the staff is leaving that path up to Hanafin along with their guidance if he chooses the Irish. The perspective allows for development - belief in the process.

Notre Dame is also targeting Arthur (Ill.) Sr athlete Kaden Feagin, who may also have some positional flexibility. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, Feagin stars on the offensive and defensive side of the football for his high school. The Irish are currently targeting Feagin for his talents at running back - but the staff is showing the willingness to see how things develop on that front.

The Irish recently hosted Lawrence (Mass.) Central Catholic athlete Preston Zinter, who plays linebacker, defensive end, wide receiver and some tight end for the Raiders. Zinter, who is slated to make his college decision known on Friday, is slated as a linebacker for Notre Dame, but he projects to multiple positions at the next level.

Continuing to add length to the secondary and linebacker corp is more indication of this vision. The lines between positions continue to get blurred. With the game moving so much toward a matchup dictated game, having players who can work from multiple alignments becomes paramount for success.

On the defensive line, you have every right to take your favorite recruiting platform’s position rankings as gospel - but that undersells the possibilities for players like Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic defensive end Jason Moore and Hagerstown (Md.) St. James School star Devan Houstan. While they both align on the edge for their respective high schools, both Moore and Houstan will have an endless amount of alignment possibilities with the Irish if they opt for South Bend.

Since Hiestand came back on board, he has hit the recruiting trail hard, again taking a peak at a plethora of talented and long athletes up front. Offensive tackles, guards or center designations mean nothing right now. The mission is finding good players and letting the fit work itself out.

That ideology will continue to shape the Notre Dame roster. Hybrid athletes will continue to be a point of emphasis moving forward - not getting stuck with tweeners.

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