Notre Dame State of Recruiting: Chansi Stuckey Has Made A Strong Impact

Chansi Stuckey has greatly improved the Notre Dame recruiting success at wide receiver

I would love to be able to tell you now that I saw this coming, that I knew when he was hired that Chansi Stuckey was going to be a standout on the recruiting trail for Notre Dame. That I knew, despite him being a college football coach for just one year, he was going to excel as a recruiter.

I'd love to tell you that, but I would be lying. I was cautiously optimistic, that's the best I can honestly say. But regardless of what the expectations were when he was hired, Stuckey has absolutely thrived as a recruiter from the moment he arrived at Notre Dame.

When Stuckey was hired last winter the Irish didn't have a single commit at wide receiver, and the Irish were coming off a year in which they landed just one wide receiver. Even though it was a very talented wideout (Tobias Merriweather), that numbers issue was just the latest recruiting failure by the previous coaching staff.

Notre Dame often had just five or six healthy scholarship receivers in 2022, and Stuckey was tasked with having to quickly repair what had become a broken wide receiver room. He's certainly done an outstanding job of that so far.

2023-24 RECRUITING SUCCESS

Stuckey got to work immediately, using his time in Texas while coaching wideouts at Baylor to build his wide receiver room. Notre Dame received offseason commitments from Texas stars Braylon James and Jaden Greathouse, and he also went out West to land another talented wideout in California standout Rico Flores Jr.

Stuckey went back into Texas to land the fourth receiver in the 2023 class, which was Frisco star Kaleb Smith. 

It was an outstanding haul, with Stuckey landing one of the nation's best group of pass catchers. Just landing talented players wasn't enough for Stuckey, he also needed to add players that were capable of helping the program out immediately. Greathouse showed he is ready to do just that, having a strong spring that ended with an 11-catch performance in the Blue-Gold Game. Flores didn't do much in the spring game, but make no mistake, he was a breakout player in the spring. James needs more time to develop as a route runner, but he showed off big time speed during the spring. All three early enrollees showed that the Irish staff hit big with the 2023 class.

Smith arrived this summer, and he could have a chance to early playing time early in his career as well.

So what would Stuckey do for an encore? Well, he's in position to add another big time group of pass catchers.

Ironically, the second receiver to commit to Stuckey was actually a 2024 receiver. That would be Illinois star Cam Williams, who pledged to the Irish last June. Williams is one of the nation's best pass catchers in the 2024 class, possessing the all-around talent and speed to be a major weapon for the Irish. Stuckey landed North Carolina standout Micah Gilbert this spring, and Gilbert adds an impressive skillset as well, possessing a strong volume skillset.

The loss of Isiah Canion means Notre Dame still needs a third receiver in the 2024 class, and who that is remains to be seen, but the foundation is strong.

2025 BOARD

Notre Dame has yet to land a player in the 2025 class, but the early board is certainly impressive. The Irish have already offered 13 wideouts in the 2025 class, and it's a talented group of players.

Arguably the top player on the board is a standout in Notre Dame's backyard, and that would be Geneva (Ill.) Community star Talyn Taylor. A dynamic, big-play receiver that would add a unique skillset to the roster, Taylor has potential star talent. He's already received offers from programs like Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Tennessee and many others. 

Taylor is without question a must-get for Stuckey and the Fighting Irish staff in the 2025 class. If Notre Dame has truly turned the corner when it comes to building a big time wide receiver class, this is the kind of prospect that Notre Dame needs to land. He's not only an elite talent, he's a local prospect.

There are several other very talented players on the 2025 board. Notre Dame is extremely high on raw Nevada athlete Derek Meadows, a 6-5 wideout with big time speed. He'll need a lot of technical work and catching consistency, but Meadows oozes potential. Another bigger receiver to keep an eye on is New Jersey wideout Quincy Porter.

Notre Dame has offered Jerome Bettis Jr., the son of Irish legend Jerome Bettis. The Irish are also going after one of the most skilled route runners in the class, Texas receiver Daylan McCutcheon. Arizona athlete Cooper Perry is one of my personal favorite players on film.

The offer board will likely expand over the next few months, but that's a very impressive early list of players.

TRENDING

Notre Dame is certainly trending in a great direction under Stuckey, but there is still work to be done. Landing a third receiver in the 2024 class is needed, and we need to see if Stuckey can continue his strong recruiting in the 2025 class. Taylor is a bit of a test case in that he's a highly regarded recruit, and he's one of the few receivers that Stuckey will have to battle programs like Alabama and Georgia for a top player. If Stuckey can win that battle it will be the final piece we need to see to know he's truly emerged as one of the best recruiting receiver coaches in the country.

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