Notre Dame Recruiting Mailbag

It is the biggest recruiting weekend of the season for Notre Dame, welcoming an extremely talented Clemson team to town to face off on Saturday night. There will be more than 60 recruits on campus to take in what promises to be an incredible football game.

With so much excitement on the recruiting side of things, we are again met with a variety of fantastic questions in this week’s recruiting mailbag. From defensive lineman, gap closers and quarterbacks, this edition has a little bit of everything.

As always, the questions were submitted by the wonderful members of the Irish Breakdown premium message board.

@irish-strong: Which position has taken the biggest step forward in the 2023 recruiting class, and which coach do you attribute that to? I’d say wide receiver, but if they keep Bowen the Safety position is also looking much better.

I would also say it has to be wide receiver. Right now, there is a serious depth issue in the wide receiver room for Notre Dame. The position also must keep getting better in terms of overall talent. So not only is getting a talented 2023 group necessary but you also need numbers.

The Irish staff has done just that in this class. With commitments from Jaden Greathouse, Braylon James, Rico Flores and Dylan Edwards, it’s hard to ask for much better. That four man class rivals the best of any class in the country.

Notre Dame also doesn’t seem done in the class. They are still attempting to close on a fifth wide receiver in the class. If they do then it should be considered a home run class for first year wide receiver coach Chansi Stuckey. Look for Notre Dame to make a hard push for Kaleb Smith when he visits this weekend.

@irishnation: Seems pretty evident that we lost out on Samuel M’Pemba. When did he cancel his visit and do you have any details on his Notre Dame recruitment? Do you think having his visit in the summer would have changed anything?

Could things have changed early on in this recruitment? Sure, it’s possible. It may have even led to a commitment since it has been very well noted that M’Pemba was very high on Notre Dame early on in the process.

The issue is that even if they did, it probably wouldn’t have mattered in the end. M’Pemba has been very open about the importance of NIL in his recruitment so eventually, it probably would have made its presence. Notre Dame offers plenty of NIL opportunities for its players, but prospects like M'Pemba are looking for guarantees, and that's not what Notre Dame does.

With how everything was going, the timing of the visit wasn’t going to make a difference. A visit during the summer would probably not have had a lasting impact.

M’Pemba canceling the trip for the Clemson game was something that we commented on a while ago. It was becoming more and more obvious that the fit just wasn’t going to happen.

@jakenky: I think we have heard Joshua Burnham getting work at Vyper and have seen Junior Tuihalamaka get some reps there in-game. With Notre Dame missing on Keon Keeley and guys like him, could they adapt to putting a smaller player at the position to get true speed on the edge in passing downs? I guess I’m wondering what Jaylen Sneed or Jaiden Ausberry would look like rushing off the edge on third down.

It is an interesting point, and a nuanced conversation. I personally don’t think that the position standard will change but I do believe that we are already starting to see evidence of the staff’s willingness to put those types on the line of scrimmage. On top of Junior Tuihalamaka getting some reps last game, we have also seen Marist Liufau get some of those reps this season.

There is also going to be a need to add speed on the edge. So while I don’t think it will change the prototype, I do think that the possibilities will be on the table for some players at other positions to play there in certain looks.

A player like Drayk Bowen is a player who I could see getting some of those reps in the 2023 recruiting class. Preston Zinter is another that could also get some of those opportunities.

The thing about Burnham, however, is he doesn't change the profile. He's already 6-4 and over 230 pounds, and he has incredibly long arms. He'll easily get over 250 pounds and look very much like a Vyper. We saw him in person at the Syracuse game going through pregame and on the kickoff team. He is going to be a very big kid.

@ndforever72: Does Notre Dame have any interest in Bo Edmundson, the quarterback who just decommitted from Michigan State? He is from Lake Travis in Texas. He is a three- star on Rivals. Looks like they didn’t recruit him originally.

No, he isn’t a player that has ever been mentioned by our sources. Notre Dame is keeping close tabs on Kansas State commit Avery Johnson. They are also pursuing current Oregon State commit Aidan Chiles, who is a newer addition to the board.

There is also the interesting background of Roch Cholowsky, who is a top high school baseball prospect but the program is keeping options open for him if he opts for baseball and chooses the Irish. If they can get one of the first two names and Cholowsky as well, it would end up being a very solid quarterback haul.

Notre Dame will likely keep expanding its board in 2023, but don't expect Edmundson to be part of that conversation.

@bplence1189: Between 2024 linebacker targets Kris Jones and Payton Pierce, are they both inside MIKE linebackers or do u prefer either at WILL?

It’s interesting because based on body types, I would think I’d prefer Jones as the MIKE and Pierce as the WILL if they played together. The really enticing part of both players is they have all the attributes to play either spot in the system, although it would look much different.

With Jones’ frame and length, he has the body to put on a substantial amount of weight. He has more than enough thump to be able to last as a MIKE on the next level. Funny enough, I actually prefer him at WILL early because of the speed he possesses. He has the closing speed to make a variety of plays in pursuit and the length to close some passing windows.

I also believe that Pierce has the straight line speed to also work in pursuit effectively. From a play style perspective, however, I believe that long term he is a MIKE. He sorts through trash incredibly well, brings a physical demeanor and always seems to be in the right spot. That is a great combination for a middle linebacker.

@jakenky: When you look at Brenan Vernon, Boubacar Traore, Devan Houston and Armel Mukam, how do you assess this defensive line class compared to past ones? Is there enough variability that you could have all four positions (nose, three technique, strong side defensive end and Vyper) represented?

This is a phenomenal question. I think it makes more sense starting with the fit question in order to assess just how good of a class it is. Let’s see how each of the four commits potentially on the next level.

DE Brenan Vernon

Vernon is the prototypical strong side defensive end early on in his career. He has the frame and growth potential to eventually work inside as a playmaking three technique. In fact, there isn’t much that Vernon won’t be able to do with his combination of size, athleticism and motor.

DE Boubacar Traore

Traore is an interesting case study. From a physical perspective, he also looks like a strong side defensive end on the next level. The team, however, appears willing to give him a shot at Vyper depending how everything works out. It’ll be interesting to see how he fairs at that spot because he would definitely not be a traditional Vyper, winning more with power and explosiveness.

DT Devan Houstan

Houstan is the playmaking interior player that Notre Dame needs in this class. He boasts a powerfully build frame and could conceivably play either three technique or nose long lerm. Houstan is an extremely underrated, and important, member of the 2023 recruiting class.

DE Armel Mukam

Mukam is a high upside defender who is just scratching the surface of how good he can be. His best position also seems like an ideal fit as a strong side defensive end, making his living off of his length, power and explosiveness. There is a decent conversation that Mukam may actually have the biggest upside of any defensive lineman in the class for Notre Dame.

So how does it all fit? If we project Vernon to eventually slot inside then him and Houstan could be the interior players in the class, while Traore and Mukam are the defensive ends. In theory, that works.

The problem is that there is no true Vyper in the class. If there was, then this would be the best defensive line group for some time for Notre Dame. That context just holds it back slightly from being potentially a historic defensive line haul.

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Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
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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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