Tom Lemming Has High Praise For Notre Dame All-Star Duo

On Monday night, 80 of the top recruits in the 2024 recruiting class competed during this year’s US Army Bowl in Frisco, Texas. Three Notre Dame players were slated to play in the game, although cornerback signee Leonard Moore was not able to play.

Linebacker Bodie Kahoun and wide receiver Micah Gilbert both did get a chance to play, and they came out of the week impressing many people. That includes Tom Lemming, who is the Godfather of national recruiting coverage. He has seen some of the greatest players in the history of the game over the last 30 plus years, building a tremendous reputation in the industry.

According to Lemming, both Notre Dame commits thoroughly impressed.

"I’ll tell you one thing, two Notre Dame guys really stood out,” Lemming told Irish Breakdown. "Bodie Kahoun was one of the better linebackers, probably the best linebacker there. Micah Gilbert caught a ton of passes, he was basically unguardable. He was fantastic catching passes from Colin Hurley, who's going to LSU. So it was quite a day for those two Notre Dame recruits.”

While both players made an impression, Kahoun separated himself as one the top defenders in Frisco. According to Lemming, he carried himself well all week.

"He sure does (look the part),” Lemming explained. "As a matter of fact, in our meetings Sunday night, the day before the game, Houston Nutt, who's one of my co-hosts on TV and a great coach, was talking about him ..... both said that he scares them with his intensity. So he's going to be, I think, kind of a surprise at Notre Dame.”

By some, Kahoun is pretty underrated. He is not the top linebacker who signed with the Irish in 2024, but is an excellent player who deserves more fanfare.

"He is not as well known as (Kyngstonn) Viliamu-Asa from California, who's a great linebacker,” said Lemming. "As a matter of fact, I do the Butkus Award and I nominated both of them. Bodie made the final 15 out of the 51 players, and Viliamu-Asa made the top five, final five.

"There were a lot of good linebackers out there this year, and Bodie's definitely one of the best.”

The best part of Kahoun, he has a lot of room to grow. With the linebacker position still being new to him, there is special upside for the Virginia native if developed properly.

"What you look at him for upside with Bodie is because he's only played a couple years of football,” Lemming said. "You know, having come from a lacrosse background, I think he's going to improve more than most of the other guys.”

Then there was Gilbert, who was also one of the premier pass catchers in attendance at the US Army Bowl. He didn’t seem to drop a pass all year, showcasing the big jump in his game he took as a senior.

"He certainly did (take a jump),” Lemming stated. "He only averaged, I think, 12 or 13 yards a catch as a junior. That's not very good for a high school player but he did take a big step. He's a big physical guy. Now, he's never going to be a blazer. I would say between 4.5 and 4.6 (in the forty yard dash) probably would be his best but he did take a big step. He's got good size. He catches everything within his frame and he showed good strength.

"His running ability after the catch surprised me, too,” he continued. "He's never going to be a guy that's going to threaten the defense vertically, but he does have that strength. All the other intangibles, it's going to make him like Michael Floyd and all the other big, strong wide receivers.”

The future of Notre Dame is bright. Kahoun and Gilbert, who both took massive jumps as a senior, are great examples of that.

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