Notre Dame Recruiting Mailbag

In the second edition of this week's recruiting mailbag, we go a little bit off the rails. Of course we talk a lot of recruiting, including changing the structure of signing days, Al Golden's impact and how the numbers may work out.

We also explore some of the top coaches in all of college football, as well as some NFL Draft talk. Things don't look like they are slowing down any time soon around Notre Dame recruiting. Let's get into it!

Like every week, questions were submitted by the loyal premium subscribers of the Irish Breakdown message board!

@thrillhouse: What are your thoughts about adding another signing day in August?

I’m a huge fan of an August signing day. It wouldn’t be so much “adding” as it would be just reformatting the signing day structure. Having a signing day in December and another in February just isn’t spaced out enough for my liking. I’d prefer the December one just get moved up until prior to the season beginning.

It could be very beneficial for recruits who have shut everything down and want to solely focus on their senior years. It also spaces the signing days out enough to present options. If a committed player isn’t ready to make a decision yet then they don’t have to. It would be a nice option to take some pressure off for what can be an exhausting process.

@irishcub5: In your opinion, is Notre Dame too passive on committed prospects? Everyone says welcome to big boy recruiting, but Notre Dame seems to move on quickly from prospects they miss on, which seems both good and bad.

No, I truly don’t believe so. There’s a fine balance between being relentless and being realistic. Not every recruit is willing to decommit. There’s a lot who completely stand by their decision when they make it. Spending too much time on players who aren’t willing to budge isn’t a great allocation of limited time.

You also don’t want to put yourself in a position where you miss a talented player because you have spent too much time trying to flip someone. Notre Dame will continue to recruit certain committed prospects if it makes sense. It’s just not a one size fits all situation.

@golfermike2022: If some other schools have a terrible season and Notre Dame does well, do you see Notre Dame trying to flip some players?

Yes, it is very possible. On field performance is a big part of the recruiting process without question. The bigger thing to consider is how much space will the class have available at that time.

Right now, sitting in the beginning of August, Notre Dame already has 23 commitments and may only have room for three to four more. If we are projecting further into the season, there just might not be many spots available left. It’s going to be tricky but I do expect the Irish staff to continue to monitor the numbers.

@tconn40: In your opinion, how is Coach (Al) Golden doing on the trail?

I have heard nothing but positives about Coach Golden’s impact in recruiting. It appears that the staff is letting the position coaches spearhead a lot of recruitments and Golden has been more of a closer to legitimize the recruits role in the defense. Jaiden Ausberry, for example, spoke very highly of Coach Golden’s football knowledge and their conversations about how the defense will look. I expect him to be even more involved as he continues to cement his philosophy on the defensive system.

@bksburner: With your background in NFL evaluations, which Notre Dame prospects from the 2023 class do you see as having elite RAS scores come testing for the next level?

Oh this is a really fun question. So for people who don’t have much of a background with RAS, it stands for relative athletic score. Players are graded on a scale of 0 to 10 comparatively to how they rate historically against players at their position in various combine tests. Those numbers are adjusted based on the player's size. So basically, players testing better at a bigger size is going to be more impressive than smaller players testing exceptionally well. It’s a big man’s game and that’s what RAS represents.

In terms of the 2023 class, I do think that there are several players who could eventually become elite level testers if they are developed properly. For the purpose of this exercise, I’m only going to include players who are currently committed to the program. I believe it starts with defensive end Keon Keeley. At 6-6 and roughly 240 pounds, he has the type of frame to hold a substantial amount of more weight. From a height and weight perspective, he will be able to score at a high enough level and I believe he will also test extremely well across the board. He’s the easiest bet to be an elite level tester.

Offensive tackle Charles Jagusah isn’t very far behind. He is a massive offensive lineman who should easily be able to hold 325 plus pounds long term. He is also an explosive mover who should test well all across the board. Jagusah is a potentially elite level athlete for the position.

Safety Peyton Bowen is another elite level athlete on the backend for the Notre Dame recruiting class. He is going to test exceptionally well from a testing perspective, including running very fast in the forty yard dash. He also boasts a frame that should hold enough weight that the size attributes shouldn’t be much of a hindrance to the RAS score. It isn’t very often that you get a safety who may be a legitimate sub 4.4 forty yard dash tester.

Wide receiver Braylon James is the type of height-weight-speed dynamo who could potentially blow up the Combine. Notre Dame has had a very good trend of wide receivers doing so and I’d be surprised if James didn’t follow suit with his outstanding frame to continue to add weight.

Defensive lineman Brenan Vernon is the intriguing one to monitor. I don’t believe he would be a special tester as a defensive end but if he ends up fitting inside on the next level, he has a chance to be an exceptional athlete working inside. Add in the fact that he has really nice length for the position and the body type to hold over 300 pounds down the road. This one is a bit of a projection to another position but is also reasonable to consider.

Cornerback Micah Bell is perhaps the most interesting case to consider. From a speed and explosiveness perspective, the Texas native is special. He has a legitimate chance to run sub 4.3 when it is all said and done. The thing that could hold him back is his size. His length and height is more than good enough but I don’t think that Bell will ever hold much weight. That could hurt his score, although he will still score really well just with the raw testing numbers.

@bluechip: During the Ausberry commitment podcast, my perception is that you and Bryan have generally described Ben Minich as a good player but I didn’t get the sense that either of you would describe him as elite. If Minich isn’t on par, in terms of his ceiling, as the other 2023 safety commits, why is he a take for Notre Dame?

Without speaking for Bryan, I believe we both like Ben Minich. He’s a good safety with versatility to play a couple different roles on the back end. I am personally just missing some high end athleticism. I do think it’s worth mentioning that not every player is projected to the same role.

Notre Dame wouldn’t take Minich if they didn’t think a lot of his game and he also does have a really nice floor as a role player and key special teamer. The staff just sees him slightly different than I do right now. It’s very possible that I end up wrong and am entirely too low on him. It’s also important to remember that he has a senior season to play so my opinion on his overall athleticism can change very quickly.

@floating-irish: If you could build your dream coaching staff out of all the coaches in college who would you pick?

For the sake of this conversation, I’d like to exclude current Notre Dame coaches. There are several of them who I would have liked to include in this scenario. I’m less concerned with filling a full class. Instead, here are a few coaches that I really like from around college football.

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard

He might be my favorite defensive mind in college football after Gary Patterson stepped down as the head coach at TCU. Leonhard has done a tremendous job with the Badgers and consistently put out tremendous defenses. I love his ability to modernize the 3-4 alignment to counteract the space game.

Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley

A former Utes All American safety, Scalley has developed into one of the best defensive coordinators in all of college football under head coach Kyle Whittingham. Scalley has had a great trend of developing impressive defensive backs and his units consistently play very hard. He’s one of my go to watches every off-season structurally.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz

This one may seem a little boring but I am a huge fan of what Coach Ferentz has accomplished at Iowa and his continued optimism for the program. Ferentz is also a tremendous offensive line coach who is a stickler for the fundamentals. That’s why they have had so many great offensive lineman for the Hawkeyes over his tenure. He remains one of the most underrated coaches in all of college football year in and year out.

Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm

From an offensive structure perspective, I love what Jeff Brohm has done at Purdue. He has a pro style approach but has shown the ability to adapt to different styles of playmakers. I’d argue that Brohm gets as much out of as little as anyone in college football. He is a tremendous Xs and Os coach.

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

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