Notre Dame's Quest For A No. 1 Recruiting Class Enters Decisive Month
Marcus Freeman changed the direction of Notre Dame's recruiting efforts almost immediately being hired as the defensive coordinator. His side of the ball fueled Notre Dame's 2022 class, which was the program's highest ranked in nine years. Freeman is looking to orchestrate the program's best recruiting class in decades in his first season as the head coach.
Notre Dame is obviously off to a great start and currently has the nation's No. 1 ranked recruiting class, but maintaining that will require some work. I know it's early, and we are still just under nine months away from the first signing period. But I am of the belief that the next month will determine if Notre Dame has a chance to maintain its standing a top the national recruiting rankings.
There are really three main objectives that must be accomplished over the next month. Success will equal Notre Dame putting itself in position to keep and finish with the No. 1 ranked class. Falling short in any of those areas will result in Notre Dame still having a very strong class, but it won't be that top of the rankings type of haul.
Let's look at what must happen over the next month.
KEEP THEM HOME
A very important part of maintaining the top standing is keeping the players currently in the class. All nine are important, but there are two players that are currently wavering in their commitment from the standpoint of they seem very open to visiting other schools. Those two recruits would be five-star defensive end Keon Keeley, the current crown jewel of the class, and standout safety Peyton Bowen.
Keeley isn't just important to keeping the No. 1 ranked class, landing this game-changing edge rusher is even more important to Notre Dame building an elite, championship caliber defense. Keeley is a special talent, but he's also being lured by programs like Alabama, Florida and Ohio State. Notre Dame needs to do what it takes to keep him in the class.
Bowen has also been a well-traveled prospect since his commitment to Notre Dame and it doesn't sound like he's slowing that down at all. In many ways Bowen acts more like Notre Dame is his leader than a program he is committed to. Considering how important safety is to this class, and considering how good Bowen is as a player, Freeman and the staff absolutely must keep him in the class.
There aren't prospects of their caliber out there for Notre Dame to replace them with, and both are great Notre Dame fits, so the Irish need to be able to withstand all the visits and be the last program standing when it's all said and done.
CLOSING
In recent weeks the Irish have hosted a number of must-get prospects, and in the coming month they will host even more. While it's still early, Notre Dame must close in very, very, very strong fashion over the next month. Here is a look at the prospects the Irish staff must close on over the next month.
QB Dante Moore - There isn't a more important prospect left on the board than Moore, an elite five-star quarterback that could serve as a bit of a pied piper for the rest of the class. Landing Moore is the biggest key to success with the rest of the class, especially the offensive prospects. The talented signal caller is visiting Notre Dame this week, and getting him to finally go public with a commitment over the next month is exactly what the Irish need to achieve their objectives.
WR Carnell Tate - Landing Moore would provide no greater impact with a recruit than it would with Tate. It's not that difficult to understand, land Moore and Notre Dame has a great chance to also land Tate, who is very tight with the Detroit quarterback and wants to play with a great quarterback. Miss out on Moore and landing Tate becomes a pipe dream. Notre Dame has done a great job getting back in the game with Tate in recent months, but there is still ground to make up.
WR Braylon James - Receivers coach Chansi Stuckey has done a tremendous job with James, who visited last weekend. Notre Dame knocked that visit out of the park and put themselves in the drivers seat with James. There isn't a prospect on the board I'm more confident that Notre Dame lands, but they need to close the deal, and do so in the very near future.
OL Charles Jagusah - Notre Dame has been considered the front runner for Jagusah for some time, and while he made a visit back in January the staff needs to convince him to get back on campus in April. If they can manage that there's a chance they could close the deal and get this talented, Top 100 blocker to make a commitment and join the class.
OL Monroe Freeling - This one will be a bit tougher to close on this early, but it's worth a shot. I expect Freeling to carry his recruitment into the summer, but he does have a visit planned to Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold Game. It will be his second trip to Notre Dame, and if Harry Hiestand and the staff can somehow convince him this is the place to be it would be a much-needed coup. Of course, having Moore already in the class and landing another prospect or two on offense before that Blue-Gold Game could certainly help the staff build on that momentum with prospects like Freeling, who is also looking hard at Clemson and Florida.
OL Sullivan Absher - Absher is another Mid-Atlantic offensive lineman that is coming back to Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold Game. Notre Dame did a great job with him in January but the return trip is crucial to being able to close the deal with Absher. NC State, North Carolina and Clemson are also pushing hard for Absher, but the Irish have positioned themselves well.
DL Jason Moore - Notre Dame has been in great position with Moore for some time, but closing the deal with him is of the utmost importance. Getting him back on campus over the next month is incredibly important, and if the staff can do that it will have a shot to close the deal. I'll write more about this later in the week, but landing Moore is essential for Notre Dame to land the kind of elite defensive line class it needs to build an elite defense. Moore is a Top 50 national recruit that would be a perfect complement to Keeley and Brenan Vernon.
LB Samuel M'Pemba - Notre Dame has gone from being M'Pemba's leader to a top contender, but even though the Irish aren't the sure-fire No. 1 leader for M'Pemba they are still very much a player in his recruitment. Notre Dame did a great job with the talented athlete during his visit last weekend, but there are other programs that have also positioned themselves well here. M'Pemba isn't locked into committing at a specific time, but the longer this goes on the less confident I will be. If Notre Dame's going to add M'Pemba in the class I'll feel better if the staff can convince him to jump on board over the next month.
CB Christian Gray - This is the prospect I'm least confident in Notre Dame landing despite the fact the Irish were once considered a clear leader for Gray. LSU and Ohio State are two programs that have made up a ton of ground on Notre Dame, and depending on who you talk to they have surpassed the Irish. Right now Notre Dame doesn't have Gray locked into a return visit since his January 29 visit to campus. If they are going to have a shot to land him they need to get him back in April and convince him to jump on board. Like M'Pemba, the longer this goes on the less confident I feel about Notre Dame's chances.
ATH Ronan Hanafin - This has been a bit of a strange recruitment. I'm told Notre Dame is quite high on Hanafin and there's no doubt about his high interest in Notre Dame, but for some reason Hanafin doesn't seem to be in any hurry to commit. If the Irish can convince him to jump on board over the next month it would give Notre Dame one of the most versatile prospects in the entire country.
Landing Moore, Tate and James at the skill positions is a must if Notre Dame is going to land a number one class. Getting two of the three linemen is also very important. Moore is an absolute must-get for Notre Dame, as is M'Pemba. If Notre Dame doesn't land Gray I really don't know who the second cornerback in this class will be.
STRONG FIRST IMPRESSIONS
There are a few very, very important prospects slated to make their first trip to campus over the next month. One has locked in a visit, the other is a prospect the staff is hoping it can convince to visit in April.
WR Rodney Gallagher - Gallagher is a prospect the Notre Dame staff absolutely loves, and he is without question a must-get recruit. Gallagher is a dynamic after-the-catch type of weapon that Notre Dame wants and needs more of in the offense. Penn State is considered the leader, and Notre Dame will need to convince Gallagher to get on campus over the next month and blow him away during that visit if it's going to have a chance to eventually get to the top of his recruitment and add him to the class.
WR Jaden Greathouse - Greathouse has connected well with Stuckey and he's already set up two visits to Notre Dame. His first visit is slated for the Blue-Gold Game, and right now I'd be a bit surprised if the Irish were able to convince him to jump in the class at that time. Of course that would be nice, but I think this one will need more time as the Irish look to overcome Texas and other Southern contenders. Making a strong impression with him during his April 23 visit is essential to eventually winning this recruitment.
OL Samson Okunlola - The talented offensive tackle recently visited Michigan and Michigan State, so clearly he's open to getting out and traveling. He has not, however, scheduled a visit to Notre Dame. If the Irish are going to have a chance with him I think they'll need to convince him to get on campus in April, and if that happens they need to knock it out of the park if they are going to have a chance to land him. Not getting a visit from him until the summer doesn't mean the Irish can't eventually get Okunlola, but it would tell me he's not nearly as interested in the program as I had hoped they would be.
Notre Dame needs at least one of these prospects, but if it can land at least one of the receivers and Okunlola the offensive class could be the best group in the nation.
KEEP AT IT
There are three defensive players that Notre Dame is extremely high on that could be game-changers for this class. None are expected to make decisions any time soon, so the next month will be key for Notre Dame from a positioning standpoint.
LB Jaiden Ausberry - Ausberry made his second trip to Notre Dame last weekend and things went extremely well. He told Irish Breakdown he's thinking about coming back for the Blue-Gold Game on April 23. If Notre Dame can convince him to do so it would be very, very telling and that visit would go a long way towards the Irish making themselves a legitimate factor in his ultimate decision. A visit from Ausberry in April would be enough for me to move him up to the Closing category. If he doesn't return the month of April will be about Al Golden, Freeman and Chad Bowden keeping the strong vibes going with him.
CB Micah Tease - Tease doesn't have an April visit set up yet, but Notre Dame is working to get him back on campus. I doubt Tease is in decision making mode at this point, so getting him on campus will be about remaining in good position and setting yourself up for an attempt to close on him during the summer. Oklahoma, however, could be very hard to beat.
S Caleb Downs - Downs has been to Notre Dame multiple times and he's slated to return for the April 23 Blue-Gold Game. Notre Dame is highly unlikely to land him, but another visit gives the staff another chance to impress the five-star safety. That visit will be about making a strong enough impression to move up his list and hopefully put themselves in position to secure an official visit this summer.
Landing a number one class often requires an upset or two, and if one of those upsets comes from this group it would be absolutely HUGE for Notre Dame.
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