Notre Dame Making Texas A Priority Is Starting To Pay Off In A Big Way
Notre Dame is making Texas a clear priority on the recruiting trail, and so far it's paying off for the Irish. Putting a greater emphasis on Texas has been clear objective for head coach Marcus Freeman and director of recruiting Chad Bowden since the former took over as the program's leading man.
The first player to commit to Notre Dame after Freeman took over as head coach was Denton (Texas) Guyer safety Peyton Bowen. Just three months later the Irish added another Texas standout when Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point wide receiver Braylon James committed to Notre Dame.
It's a welcome change for the program, which for the most part put the Longhorn state on the back burner for years. Recruiting Texas should be a no brainer when you think of the talent produced in the state. Just look at the 2022 NFL Draft, which had 32 Texas natives get selected, which is more than any other state in the land. Only Georgia (30) and California (22) were within ten of Texas.
Notre Dame signed eight Texas players from 2011 to 2014, but it signed just five in the next seven classes, including not landing a single prospect in the 2018, 2020 and 2021 classes. Notre Dame signed just one Texas standout in 2022, and that one signee - running back Jadarian Price - was a spring standout for the Irish.
In total, Notre Dame signed 14 players from the state of Texas in 13 recruiting classes under the previous regime.
Not only is Notre Dame making Texas a much bigger priority, the Fighting Irish staff is pushing for a much higher quality of prospect from the state. Of the 14 signees under the previous coach, just two - tight end Brock Wright and cornerback Nick Watkins - were Top 200 recruits.
Both James and Bowen are Top 100 recruits, with Bowen ranking No. 52 nationally on the On3 consensus rankings and James ranking No. 67 on the 247Sports composite ranking. Bowen ranks as high as No. 37 nationally by On3 and James ranks as high as No. 46 by ESPN.
There are four more Texas standouts on the board for Notre Dame in the 2023 class, and they are also highly regarded prospects.
Austin (Texas) Westlake wide receiver Jaden Greathouse is ranked as the nation's No. 76 overall player by Rivals and is ranked No. 85 (No. 4 receiver) by ESPN.
Houston (Texas) Kinkaid cornerback Micah Bell is ranked as the nation's No. 55 overall player and No. 8 cornerback by 247Sports.
Marlin (Texas) High School linebacker Derion Gullette is ranked as the No. 54 player in the land by On3.
Waxahachie (Texas) High School cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt ranks as the No. 108 player in the country according to On3.
All four of these uncommitted Texas standouts are important recruits for Notre Dame in the 2023 class.
Greathouse is a must-get prospect for the Irish, who are hoping to add two big-time pass catchers from Texas to the class. The 6-2, 210-pound receiver racked up 66 catches for 1,274 yards (19.3 YPC) and 20 touchdowns for the state champion Westlake squad. His monster season included seven catches for 236 yards and three touchdowns in a matchup against Bowen and Guyer. In that game Greathouse dominated four-star cornerback Ryan Yaites, a LSU commit.
Greathouse is scheduled to visit Notre Dame officially the weekend of June 17-19. The Irish staff is hoping it can convince him to join the class following his summer official visits.
Bell is arguably the top cornerback target on the board for Notre Dame, and that is clearly a very important position in this class for the Irish. Bell has truly elite speed, and he's a dominant player on both sides of the ball, rushing for 1,118 yards (8.3 YPC) as a junior. Bell is set to visit Notre Dame the weekend of June 17-19. Impressing him that weekend will be of the utmost importance for the Irish staff, who need Bell in this class.
Bell has run a 10.41 and a 10.45 in the 100-meter dash this spring and also posted a 20.89 in the 200-meter dash in April. Those are elite times for a football prospect.
Simpson-Hunt is another speedy cornerback from Texas. Currently a Texas Tech commit, Simpson-Hunt is a relatively new recruit for Notre Dame, and the staff seems to be making him a priority. He has the kind of size (6-0) and physicality Notre Dame likes at cornerback, and like Bell he can run. Simpson-Hunt has run a 10.67 in the 100-meter dash this spring and has a 21.77 in the 200-meter dash.
Notre Dame always wants to add more speed to its roster, and there is no doubt that Bell and Simpson-Hunt would do just that.
Simpson-Hunt is expected on campus for an official visit the weekend of June 10-12.
Speaking of speed, Gullette has rare athleticism and speed for a linebacker. He had over 1,400 receiving yards last season, and the 6-3, 225-pound athlete has as much raw talent of any player left on the board, regardless of position. Gullette says all the right things about Notre Dame, but as of right now he has yet to set up a visit to campus. This is a bold statement, but Notre Dame hasn't recruited a linebacker with his size/speed/athleticism combination since it landed Jaylon Smith back in the 2013 class.
Notre Dame is also making an early run at some of the top players from the state in the 2024 class.
Of course, that list includes Eli Bowen, who is the younger brother of the Notre Dame commit discussed above. Notre Dame has also offered Melissa (Texas) High School defensive end Nigel Smith, a consensus Top 100 recruit, and elite Temple (Texas) Lake Belton wide receiver Micah Hudson, the nation's No. 6 overall player according to On3.
Notre Dame is certainly off to a great start recruiting Texas, but the key now is adding even more and making the Longhorn state a key state for the Irish recruiting efforts in the present and future.
If Notre Dame can land at least two more players in the 2023 class from Texas it would mark a huge success, and set the program up for a huge boost in talent and also puts the Irish in position to add even more in the future.
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