What's Next: Notre Dame Still Has Plenty Of Offensive Line Recruiting To Do
Notre Dame added yet another talented player to its outstanding 2023 class when it landed Belmont (N.C.) South Point offensive lineman Sullivan Absher. Beating out Clemson gave the Irish one of the best blockers on the East Coast, and the foundation of Absher and fellow North Carolina native Sam Pendleton is a strong start to the 2023 offensive line class.
Notre Dame seems to be comfortable taking five offensive linemen in the 2023 class, so line coach Harry Hiestand and the offensive staff aren't close to being done with the position. The great start must be built upon if Notre Dame is going to stack its depth chart with the kind of elite talent it needs.
ELITE TACKLES STILL ON THE BOARD
During his first go-round at Notre Dame, Hiestand made a living filling up on tackles and then figuring out ways to get the best five players on the field. Absher is a tackle with positional versatility and the next two top targets are also tackles, which fits right with Hiestand's philosophy.
Of course, that would be Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman Catholic standout Charles Jagusah and Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside star Monroe Freeling. This is a pair of elite blockers that are must-gets for Notre Dame in the 2023 class.
Jagusah is the one prospect on the board that is in Notre Dame's backyard, which only adds to his importance as a recruit. He visited Notre Dame in October and again in April, and the Irish are considered the favorite at this point, but Michigan and Iowa are also still very much in the mix.
The 6-6, 285-pound Jagusah is a powerful player that is just now starting to scratch the surface of his potential. He is ranked as the nation's No. 7 overall player by On3 and earned a five-star upside grade on the Irish Breakdown board. He's an absolute must-get for Notre Dame, and the staff will need to try and close on him when he visits in June.
Freeling is also one of the nation's best blockers and also earned a five-star upside grade on the Irish Breakdown board. The 6-7, 285-pound left tackle is ranked as the No. 38 overall player in the country according to On3. Freeling is the most pure blindside tackle on the board and he's been a priority recruit for Hiestand and Notre Dame since the coach returned to South Bend back in January.
Notre Dame's had Freeling on campus twice since Hiestand was hired, including the Blue-Gold Game. The Irish are in a good position but there is still a lot of work to do. Freeling recently listed a final seven schools that included Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Miami (Fla.).
Freeling is returning for an official visit the weekend of June 10th, but the Oceanside standout has made it clear he's in no rush to make a decision. Notre Dame will likely stay on Freeling until the end, but the staff needs to do everything it can to get him and Jagusah to jump on board before the season starts.
If Notre Dame gets one of these two they will finish with one of the three to four best offensive line classes in the country. If the staff can land both Jagusah and Freeling you won't find a better offensive line class in the entire country, which would be quite the coup for Hiestand in his first year back on the job.
FILLING OUT THE DEPTH IS KEY
Even if Notre Dame lands Freeling and Jagusah there is still more the staff would like to add. Hiestand has always focused on a small number of prospects and then doing what it takes to land all the players he needs from that group. Right now there are just two other prospects on the board, and both have a lot of upside.
Notre Dame will be hosting Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle offensive tackle Elijah Paige the weekend of June 3-5. Paige is a natural tackle with impressive length and athleticism for the edge, and he is one of the more fundamentally sound tackles on the board.
The other target on the board is recently offered Topeka (Kan.) Hayden offensive guard Joe Otting. Don't be fooled by Otting's three-star status, this is a talented young blocker. At 6-4 and 265 pounds he's clearly the smallest blocker on the board, but he's extremely athletic and quite powerful for his size.
Otting has yet to set an official visit date, but if Notre Dame can get him back on campus they'll have a strong shot to add him to the class.
A group that includes just one of Jagusah or Freeling and both Paige and Otting would still be quite good, but the ideal class for Notre Dame is to land, Jagusah, Freeling and one of Otting or Paige. That would be the elite class I mentioned earlier, and would be a grand slam for Notre Dame in its quest to not only land a No. 1 ranked class, but to build the most talented line in the land.
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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
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