Notre Dame State of Recruiting: Backfield Is Thriving

Notre Dame has greatly upgraded its recruiting at both quarterback and running back

Notre Dame recruiting at quarterback and running back has been an inconsistent affair over the last 15 years, but recent success has certainly started to move things in a positive direction.

Despite a lot of staff turnover in the last couple of seasons, Notre Dame has picked up recruiting at both positions in a big way. Running back recruiting had been trending in a good direction for several seasons, but things have gone to a higher level since the arrival of Deland McCullough.

Quarterback recruiting was strong early in Brian Kelly's tenure, but things took a bit of a dip following the 2015 class. There were good years, but quarterback recruiting was far too inconsistent. Ever since Kelly left, quarterback recruiting quickly shot up under Tommy Rees, and new quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli is hoping to build on that success.

2023-24 RECRUITING SUCCESS

The 2023 quarterback recruiting cycle was a wild affair. For months it seemed as though five-star Dante Moore would be the Irish quarterback in the class. After that fell through the Irish looked to be in trouble, but late in the fall, Rees was able to land Tennessee quarterback Kenny Minchey, a player that earned a Top 100 caliber grade on the Irish Breakdown board.

Landing Minchey gave the Irish a much-needed boost in recruiting at the position and prevented the possibility that Notre Dame would struggle to land a top quarterback for a second straight cycle, and for the fourth time in five cycles.

Prior to landing Minchey, Notre Dame did land a quarterback in the 2024 class with elite quarterback CJ Carr picked the Irish. As expected, Carr's recruiting ranking has dropped since his Notre Dame commitment, but make no mistake, he's one of the best signal callers in the 2024 class.

Landing Minchey and Carr in back-to-back classes gives Notre Dame its best consecutive haul of quarterbacks since it landed DeShone Kizer and Brandon Wimbush in back-to-back classes. Of course, that ended a stretch of five years where Notre Dame recruited the position extremely well. That began with Everett Golson in the 2011 class, and he was followed by Gunner Kiel, Malik Zaire, Kizer and Wimbush.

Notre Dame's recruiting at running back has been trending well for several seasons, beginning with Chris Tyree in the 2020 class. Of course, Kyren Williams ended up being a big time back for the Irish, but he wasn't considered a top recruit in the 2019 class. Tyree was a Top 100 recruit, and he was followed by Audric Estime and Logan Diggs in the 2021 class, and 2022 signee Jadarian Price earned a Top 100 grade by Irish Breakdown.

McCullough added Gi'Bran Payne to the 2022 class once he was hired, but 2023 signee Jeremiyah Love was his first huge pickup at Notre Dame. Love is a Top 50 caliber player and was a consensus Top 100 recruit in the 2023. class. He is an explosive back with big time potential as both a runner and receiver.

McCullough's encore is also outstanding. It started with Aneyas Williams, who committed to the Irish in December. Williams is a borderline Top 100 running back and he's arguably the best all-purpose back in the country. That was followed by McCullough landing a commitment from Kedren Young in June.

Williams and Young are an ideal complementary pair, with Williams being an outstanding all-around back, and Young possessing big time every down back skills. Young earned a Top 100 grade in the Irish Breakdown board and in my view he's one of the five best running backs in the country.

A case could be made that Notre Dame's 2023-24 classes are the best back-to-back hauls since the Charlie Weis era. 

2025 BOARD

Notre Dame has offered seven quarterbacks in the 2025 class, but there is no question that Mississippi native Deuce Knight is the staff's top target. Guidugli has worked very hard to build a strong connection with Knight, and that has put the Irish into a battle with Tennessee to land him.

The Irish will host Knight for a visit in late July as the staff looks to put themselves on top for Knight. His recruiting ranking has taken off after strong 7-on-7 success, and Knight is a clear Top 100 player on the Irish Breakdown board. He'd be a tremendous talent to add a year after landing Carr, and would give the Irish three straight outstanding quarterbacks.

Knight is still a bit raw and could need some time, but his raw talent is tremendous. His God-given ability is as good as Notre Dame has landed in a very long time, and he's just starting to tap into his full potential.

At running back, Notre Dame is still sorting through its board a bit, but two targets have emerged as arguably the top prospects on the board. Notre Dame has been pushing for Georgia running back Ousame Kromah for some time. In recent months, Florida speedster Justin Thurman has also become a top target, and that was solidified after an outstanding performance at Notre Dame's Irish Invasion camp.

TRENDING

Notre Dame is trending in an exceptional direction with its backfield recruiting. Knight is the key to really making sure quarterback recruiting is at a championship level over a period of time, but landing Minchey and Carr already has the Irish in position to see a major jump in quarterback talent when they are on the roster together.

At running back, McCullough has picked up where Lance Taylor left off and has even improved upon it. Notre Dame has now earned very high marks for running back recruiting for a fifth straight cycle. Landing either Thurman or Kromah would keep that rolling.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - 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.

BECOME A MEMBER

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: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter