Several Underrated Notre Dame Recruits And Commits In Line for Ranking Bumps
In the quest to solidify the top recruiting class in the 2023 cycle, the Notre Dame staff is continuing to use their momentum down the stretch of the spring and summer. In that quest, most will be worried about the next commitment.
Who is the next player who will add to the ranking and help to solidify the class? That undermines the growth potential of the committed recruits and their ascension in the recruiting rankings perspective. There are also a couple of prospects on the board who could (and should) see a rankings bump that could also provide a boost.
Let’s take a look at some of those 2023 recruits who could be due for a huge bump in their ranking moving forward.
UNCOMMITTED RECRUITS
WR Ronan Hanafin
As the Irish Breakdown staff has stated many times in the past, Ronan Hanafin may be the best three star recruit ever. It’s crazy to think that teams like Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, USC, Oklahoma and LSU are making such a hard push for a player who is just going to bring their commit ranking average down. It’s almost like the quality of the player is more important than the amount of stars a recruit has. At 6-3 and 205 pounds, Hanafin can be improperly labeled as a catch point wide receiver, which he certainly can do. That, however, severely undersells Hanafin’s athletic ability. He is a true three-level threat who is a tough matchup for any cornerback.
That three-star billing should drastically change just off the mere presence of his offer list. Most will be wise not to overlook this talented pass catcher. We are actually starting to see some changes. Rivals recently changed his ranking to a four-star, as did 247Sports. Neither has Hanafin inside their top rankings (Top 247 for 247Sports, Top 250 for Rivals).
CB Micah Bell
Bell has seen a big rankings bump already by several services. Rivals jumped him up from a three-star recruit, to a four-star unranked player as recently as May to the No. 114 player in the country in its rankings update last week. 247Sports (No. 55) and ESPN (No. 128) both think highly of the Texas speedster. The issue with Bell is with On3, who is clearly not very high on Bell. It's an absurd ranking, really, with On3 listing him as the No. 41 cornerback in the country and No. 63 player in Texas. Yes, Bell ranks lower in the state of Texas according to On3 than he ranks nationally by 247Sports. Hopefully On3 will realize their evaluation mistake and jump him up the ranking.
Should Notre Dame land Bell it would be huge if On3 corrects its ranking for Bell. Right now he ranks No. 119 on the On3 consensus ranking and No. 120 on the 247Sports composite rankings. If On3 just gets Bell inside the Top 150-200 he'll likely jump way into the Top 100 on the consensus/composite rankings.
NOTRE DAME COMMITS
OT Elijah Paige
It wasn't that long ago that Paige was a consensus three-star recruit, but that is already starting to change a bit, and I doubt it ends there. 247Sports recently jumped him up to No. 223 nationally and Rivals recently jumped him up to a four-star recruit, but On3 and ESPN still have him as a three-star recruit, which is why Paige ranks No. 332 overall in the On3 consensus rankings and No. 335 on the 247Sports composite list. As is the case with Bell, if the other two services come around with proper evaluations you'll see Paige's rankings jump way up, which will only boost the Irish recruiting class grade.
Paige’s film screams of a much more highly acclaimed blind side protector, with outstanding foot quickness and patience as a pass protector. He also shows off that notable foot quickness in the run game, where he easily transitions laterally and to the second level with ease. The main criticism of Paige would be okay strength but he has spent this off-season adding weight to his frame. He is now nearly 6-7 and over 300 pounds. If that is an indicator that his play strength has taken a step forward then it’s going to be hard to poke a hole in his game. With a reported 34½” arm length, Paige is sure to be rated accordingly very soon. He has top 100 national player upside with a big senior season for Pinnacle.
OL Joe Otting
As Irish Breakdown publisher Bryan Driskell likes to say, “if there are 696 players better in the country than Joe Otting then the 2023 recruiting class is the best class in history.” That refers to his On3 consensus ranking, and this ranking is frankly embarrassing. It is understandable why Otting is underrated to a degree. He is a bit developmental player at 6-4 and 270 pounds, so he clearly needs to add a substantial amount of weight. Throw in the fact that he is from a small school in Kansas and the under-appreciation makes some sense. The reality is that Otting’s film is really good and the upside is substantial. Otting should be considered a consensus four-star recruit. Being ranked in the 600s or worse is straight up disrespectful.
DT Devan Houstan
The “lowest ranked” of arguably the top defensive line class in the 2023 cycle, Houstan has a tendency to get a bit overshadowed by the likes of Keon Keeley, Brenan Vernon and Boubacar Traore. Doing so is ill advised. Houstan currently aligns as a defensive end for St. James School in Hagerstown, Maryland but does project more favorably inside on the next level. The 6-5, 275-pound defender is a penetration style defensive tackle who is going to cause a lot of havoc for opposing offenses. Being pegged as high as the No. 180 player by 247Sports is a really good spot to be in but to be honest, it isn’t high enough. The upside is immense. It's even worse that On3 has him ranked No. 271 and Rivals doesn't have him in their Top 250. He needs to be ranked a lot higher.
DB Peyton Bowen
This is probably the one that most people are looking at with the most confusion, perhaps with an eye roll shortly after. Bowen is rated as the No. 37 overall player and No. 4 safety in the 2023 class according to On3. That certainly doesn’t sound under-appreciated. There are, however, varying opinions on Bowen. He is ranked as the No. 72 and No. 93 player nationally according to 247Sports and Rivals, respectively. Those rankings are way too low, especially the Rivals ranking. Bowen has the type of athletic profile to eventually be considered a consensus top 50 recruit. In fact, a case could be made he's closer to being a five-star than someone in the bottom quarter of the Top 100. If his technical skills can match his athletic upside, Bowen could legitimately push for five star status; Bowen is that talented.
If Notre Dame linebacker commit Drayk Bowen keeps dropping you can add him to this list. Bowen should be considered a unanimous Top 100 recruit in the 2023 class.
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
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @RiseNDraft
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook