Notre Dame Recruiting Mailbag: Part Two

With so many outstanding questions this week, we opted to put out a second part for this week's mailbag. The regular season is already flying by, which means that the 2023 recruiting class is nearly finalized. That brings a series of outstanding questions about the finish, and some insight into the 2024 class.

As always, these outstanding questions were provided by the loyal members of the Irish Breakdown premium message board.

In this week's second edition of the mailbag, we will be taking a look at defensive line recruiting for the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes, a Jeremiyah Love update, Peyton Bowen and a potential offensive tackle target. Let's get into it!

@bradfromstl: Who are the prospects at Vyper, seems like our commits are interior or big end candidates.

@jerboski: Any update on vyper targets?

@rubes0391: Any updates on Keon Keeley? I have seen he’s been taking visits but was wondering if he still has any communication with ND recruits/staff or has that ship sailed?

@tony_stangelyahoo-com: Did Notre Dame just stop recruiting Keely?

It seems appropriate to combine this series of questions, considering they all involve the future of the Vyper position. Let’s start with the Keon Keeley part of the question. As we explained when Keeley made the decision to decommit from Notre Dame, the staff is not planning on actively recruiting him. They feel like they did everything right and consistently stood by him through everything.

The staff left the ball in his court. If Keeley chooses to come back to the class then there will be a spot open to him. They do, however, need to prepare themselves in case that doesn’t materialize.

Over the last couple of months, we have seen the board expand for Notre Dame at the position. Truthfully, this season will serve as an evaluation process for the Vyper spot, which I believe is extremely smart. The staff has added players like Blake Purchase and Jaeden Moore to the board, as well as continuing to evaluate interest from current Tennessee commits Caleb Herring and Chandavian Bradley.

There is no telling who the target will ultimately be, and it’s very possible that the commit isn’t even on the board right now. It will be worth evaluating during the fall as Notre Dame tries to circle in on their target. Ultimately I believe that Notre Dame will have a Vyper in the class when all is said and done.

@jerboski: When is Justin Scott visiting?

Tentatively, Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius 2024 defensive tackle Justin Scott is planning to make the trip back to South Bend on November 5 for the Clemson game. He is still figuring out his travel schedule but Scott has made our staff aware that getting back for that game is a potential priority.

When that gets finalized, we will make sure to keep the message board updated accordingly.

@kylewade95: With your recruiting piece on tackle targets, who’s your early favorite as a replacement, and who do you see Notre Dame seeing as their new favorite?

I have no idea if Notre Dame sees it as a priority to get another offensive tackle in the 2023 recruiting class, potentially pushing the class back to five offensive lineman commits. The list was more to try and identify a few offensive tackles who could make sense from a talent level perspective, and could potentially be good overall fits. I have zero idea if any of these players are on Notre Dame’s radar or will be in the future.

Of the four players I highlighted, I’m most intrigued by Gilbert (Ariz.) Highland offensive tackle Caleb Lomu. Physically he has a lot of room to grow but his combination of athleticism and flexibility is incredibly intriguing. He has all of the tools to be a great player if he develops properly.

In all honesty, I would be very happy if Notre Dame went after any of the four players I had listed. They are all exceptionally talented and have legitimate developmental upside.

@reid16: Are there any updates on Jeremiyah Love? I would have to think that the performance of our running backs during the UNC game helped our chances.

It sounds like Love and his family are fully in the decision making mode. There were several schools who made a hard run at it but it does look like it is ultimately a Notre Dame vs Texas A&M battle. This can be a stressful situation remaining patient but there should be some clarity on where this is trending soon.

Despite Notre Dame getting off to early struggles, they seem to have really done their best to continue to sell the vision despite adversity. Love knows how he fits both on and off the field. He also knows just how much of a priority that he is for the Notre Dame program.

I have felt that Notre Dame was the leader for a while in this one. We will know soon if they were able to seal the deal.

@irishbrad68: What’s up with Peyton Bowen? I just have a bad feeling we won’t keep him.

With everything that has happened, I completely understand the pessimism here. With the Peyton Bowen situation, it really comes down to this: he continues to say all the right things but until he shuts it down and stops taking visits, there is going to be uncertainty.

Now it’s not all completely warranted. As well stated in the past, the plan was always for Peyton to take visits with his brother. The longer this plays out, the better it is for Notre Dame. There’s been talk of decommitment for months and the bottom line is it hasn’t happened. Oklahoma insiders and Texas A&M insiders have been stirring the pot for months, claiming Bowen was on the verge of flipping and saying things contrary to what our sources with Notre Dame and on the Bowen side of things are saying. If he wanted to leave, why would he not have done so already? It comes down to who you trust, and if I had to choose who to believe I'm going with the Bowen's and the Irish staff. Notre Dame has stayed the course and will get Peyton and Eli back on campus in November.

There’s no guarantees in recruiting but as of right now, I feel okay about the state of Bowen’s commitment.

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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