2023 Class Could Help Notre Dame Re-Establish Dominance In Chicago

Notre Dame has always been a national recruiting powerhouse due to the vision and efforts of Knute Rockne to establish the brand from coast to coast. I’m not sure if he considered how the wealth of athletic talent would be distributed across the country over one hundred years later, but the foundation that he laid continues to be the backbone of college football recruiting in South Bend.

The state of Indiana isn’t a hotbed for high school gridiron talent and fails to give Notre Dame the same in-state advantages of other programs like USC, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. That means the Irish must always branch out and scour the entire country.

That doesn't mean Notre Dame can't do more to build a "local" base that includes Indiana and the states that border it. This is especially true of Ohio, Michigan, and yes, Illinois, with an even greater emphasis on Chicago.

Half of the legendary Four Horsemen were from states that bordered Indiana (Harry Stuhldreher and Don Miller were from Ohio), and the other two were in states that bordered states that bordered Indiana (Jim Crowley was from Wisconsin, Elmer Layden was from Iowa).

The Midwest has been a recruiting anchor while filling many roster spots in South Bend over the last century, and the Chicagoland area has been one of its biggest suppliers. Unofficially, 205 young men from the Chicagoland area have lettered at Notre Dame according to media guides. Players like Heisman trophy winner John Lattner, Hall of Famer Bryant Young, Tommy Zbikowski, recent top draft pick Cole Kmet and current defensive lineman Rylie Mills were all from the Chicago area.

The 1988 national championship team had Chicagoland stars Chris Zorich, Tim Grunhard and George Streeter.

Unfortunately, in recent seasons the Irish have had their fair share of misses in Chicago as well. Dynamic athlete AJ Henning chose Michigan over Notre Dame in 2020, and that same year the Irish missed on offensive lineman Peter Skoronski, who picked Northwestern. Skoronski was a first-team All-Big Ten offensive tackle for the Wildcats this past season despite being a true sophomore.

Although not from Chicago, Illinois native AJ Epenesa turned down Notre Dame and chose Iowa before turning into one of the best defensive linemen in the country and becoming a second round NFL Draft pick.

Top 100 wide receiver Kaleb Brown of Chicago St. Rita chose Ohio State over Notre Dame in the 2022 class, while another Chicagoland wideout - Tyler Morris - picked Michigan. With Notre Dame signing just one wide receiver in 2022 (Tobias Merriweather) and not having a player at wide receiver on the roster from the 2019 and 2020 classes, those would have been huge pickups.

Several coaches in the area believe that the Notre Dame brand still hold considerable weight with recruits, but the task to secure their commitment has become more difficult due to the exposure to other programs via television and social media. Another advantage previously was the connection between Notre Dame and the Chicago are catholic schools that continue to dominate the wealth of talent and championship annually.

“There is a laundry list of elite players that have gone on to play other places that wanted to come to Notre Dame," Howard Griffith of the Big Ten Network told Irish Breakdown. "When it comes to recruiting, it’s a 24 hour job and that hasn’t been the case with the local talent recently.”

Former Notre Dame linebacker Corey Mays of Chicago Morgan Park remembers how impactful his offer from Notre Dame was when it came back in 2001.

“Greg Mattison was my main recruiter, and the message was education, premier schedule, alumni base and playing on television every week. But, to dominate now is simply presence and building of TRUST. It is the simplicity of showing up and offering kids and letting them know there is an open pipeline to Notre Dame. We should be a PRESENCE and verbally declare that Chicago is important.”

Ironically, the assistant coach leading the charge to re-establish Notre Dame’s recruiting dominance in the area is offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who starred at Lake Forest (Ill.) High School. That hard work needs to pay off in the 2023 class, and Rees is working very hard to make that happen.

Rees has done an incredible job establishing strong relationships with some elite pass catchers in the 2023 class. Chicago native Carnell Tate is currently at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, and he's the top receiver on the board for Notre Dame. Rees has carried the torch for Notre Dame and put the Irish right in the middle of Tate's recruitment.

“My relationship with Tommy Rees is really strong”, Tate told Irish Breakdown. I talk to the other commits like Drayk and they say things are different under Marcus and you need to come check it out. He’s going to make sure that the offense is straight.”

Notre Dame has also offered and recently hosted Chicago Simeon wideout Malik Elzy, who would bring impressive size (6-3, 195) to the wide receiver room.

The Fighting Irish aren’t just trying to stock up on the offensive side of the ball as safeties coach Chris O’ Leary has set his sights on 2023 corner Jyaire Hill out of Kankakee (Ill.) High School. Hill has elite speed and has thoroughly enjoyed every step of the process from his initial offer to his recent visit to campus.

“I couldn’t believe it when they offered me, and I was really excited," Hill said. "My visit was great, I loved all of the uniforms they laid out and the coaches dressing up was really cool.”

Another 2023 defensive lineman - Brooks Bahr from Wilmette (Ill.) Loyola Academy - is another Chicago area defensive target for Marcus Freeman and Al Washington. Bahr also visited South Bend last weekend and connected with 2023 Irish commit Brenan Vernon and Hill as well. He’s looking to get back to campus soon.

The Notre Dame coaching staff has made a concerted effort to establish that presence in the 2023 recruiting cycle, and trust continues to be cultivated with the recruits. Chicago winds have been known to change without notice. Freeman and his staff are serving notice that those winds are shifting towards South Bend.

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Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

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

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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