Analysis and Recruiting Updates On Notre Dame Prospects At The Under Armour Camp
Notre Dame had a number of 2022 and 2023 prospects at this weekend’s Under Armour All-American Camp.
Here is my rundown of what I saw from each Notre Dame prospect, and any recruiting scuttlebutt we gathered. Let’s go by position.
QUARTERBACK
DANTE MOORE, 2023 — Moore is one of the top quarterbacks in the country regardless of class, and that was on display this weekend. It was a windy and rainy day, but Moore was able to handle the elements effectively. That is due in part to his quick, compact delivery, natural arm strength and the fact he spins the ball at a high rate, which helps his throws cut through the wind.
At times Moore rushed his release, but for the most part he showed impressive timing, good velocity and accuracy as a passer. Moore is deadly on short to intermediate throws and shows above-average downfield arm strength that will keep getting better and better as he continues to develop physically.
Recruiting: Moore has already connected with Notre Dame, and when he talks about the Irish he clearly holds the program in high regard. Moore, however, is still very, very early in the recruiting process.
WIDE RECEIVER
JADEN MANGHAM, 2022 — Notre Dame is recruiting Mangham as a safety, but he played wide receiver during the UA camp. Mangham is exceptionally long, standing at least 6-3 with long arms and legs. He’s more fluid and smooth than he is explosive, which you can see on film and during the camp. What I love about him is how rangy he is, and while we didn’t get to see that as a DB, you could see it at wideout, and Mangham was able to cover a lot of ground once he got rolling. I like his foot quickness, body control and ball skills.
Recruiting: Mangham is clearly on Notre Dame's radar as a safety, but there are still some concerns about whether or not he's a safety or wideout, and whether he wants to play safety or wideout. Mangham said he's open to both, but so far at every camp or event he's been at I believe he's always played wideout.
OFFENSIVE LINE
CARSON HINZMAN, 2022 — Most offensive linemen only got a couple of one-on-one reps, so most of the analysis of Hinzman is based on size observations and individual drill work. The first thing that stood out to me about Hinzman was his build. He’s a very lean athlete that doesn’t have much chubbiness at all. In that regards he comes from the Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey mold of young lineman. He’s got broad shoulders and a lower half that has plenty of room to develop. Hinzman has average arm length, but as an interior player that won’t impact him at all.
Athletically I was impressed with how well Hinzman moved. On film you can see first step explosiveness, but at the camp he showed off impressive foot quickness and agility. His change of direction is top notch and his overall movement skills were outstanding. He got just two reps during one-on-ones, and he lost his first rep because he stopped his feet when he lunged. Hinzman won his second rep thanks to his athleticism and powerful hands.
I loved Hinzman’s film, and after seeing him in person he has gone up even higher on my board.
Recruiting: Hinzman is coming to Notre Dame for an official visit on the weekend of June 18-20. The two weekends prior he plans to visit Wisconsin and Iowa, and he'll head to Alabama some time after the Notre Dame visit. Hinzman will likely take a fifth visit, and Penn State has a shot to get that.
Hinzman said he talks to line coach Jeff Quinn multiple times per week and he speaks highly of the Irish coach. He mentioned that his relationship with Hinzman began during his freshman season, when Hinzman visited Notre Dame on two occasions. Wisconsin and Iowa will be major players, but the Irish have positioned themselves quite well with Hinzman.
JOSHUA PADILLA, 2023 — Padilla won the OL MVP at the camp, although the lack of overall reps made that a hard award to pick, at least in my opinion. The Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne blocker shows a good burst off the line and he has heavy hands. His lateral quickness is decent for his age and he has decent size, although his athleticism and size make him a pure interior player at the next level. Padilla isn’t all that big, but he competed hard in one-on-ones and showed a good punch.
Recruiting: Notre Dame recently offered Padilla and he seems to be very early in his recruiting process, but scuttlebutt down in Columbus is that it will be very hard for anyone but Ohio State to land him.
KADYN PROCTOR, 2023 — Proctor didn’t take any one-on-one reps. He moved well in the limited drill reps I saw, considering his size. What I noticed about him during the event was how massive Proctor is. He’s not only tall with above-average arm length, he has a thick lower half that should allow him to develop into a dominant run blocker.
DEFENSIVE LINE
JALEN THOMPSON, 2023 — Thompson is a well-built young defender with an athletic body and relatively long arms. During drills he showed a good get-off, the ability to bend around the edge and good foot quickness. Thompson still has a lot to learn from a technique standpoint (especially with his footwork), but the athletic tools are there.
One thing that stood out to me with Thompson, and it’s not really something I saw with any other linemen, was how fast and good he is with his hands. On both reps I saw from Thompson he was able to recognize the lineman shooting his hands towards him, and Thompson shot his hands extremely quickly, was able to grab the lineman’s hands and then threw them aside as he got by on his way to the quarterback.
BRENAN VERNON, 2023 — Vernon is an interesting player. He’s tall and long, and during drills he showed a really nice burst and closing speed. His lateral quickness isn’t quite as good, but that could be more about his technique than anything else. He tends to get a bit high and he’s a herky jerky athlete, but when he comes off with good pad level his power and get off helped him dominate, and you could see that today.
Recruiting: Notre Dame has offered Vernon but like Padilla, the consensus at the camp is that he's close to being an Ohio State lock.
LINEBACKER
DEVON JACKSON, 2022 — I was looking forward to watching Jackson get work at linebacker, but I still have questions about him based on what we saw today. Jackson is a defensive end in high school, but he’s barely over 6-1 and not much over 200 pounds, and he doesn’t have the kind of frame that will allow him to carry 230+ pounds, or at least it will be a challenge.
At the UA camp we got to see him working at linebacker. Two things were obvious, one is he has elite speed and athleticism, two is that he’s more of an athlete right now than he is a football player, at least at linebacker. Jackson’s footwork and feel for the game were subpar, but his elite speed allowed him to still make plays.
An example is a pass break up he had on a deep ball that had a bunch of analysts and coaches for UA fired up. Jackson was standing flat footed when the back got near him and then tried to grab the back as he ran by. Jackson was initially beat by 4-5 yards on the play, but his elite speed allowed him to recover and break up the pass. The ball was a bit late, and he won’t be able to so easily recover against better competition.
I’ve felt all along he’s a risky prospect, one that possesses tremendous athleticism, but also one that comes with a lot of risk due to not knowing just how good he’ll be playing off the ball.
Recruiting: Jackson said he talks regularly with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, and he said the Irish are recruiting him to play rover. Jackson told IB recruiting analyst Eric Rutter that his first visit will be to Arizona State and will likely be followed by a trip to Oklahoma. Notre Dame is expected to be the following weekend (June 18-20).
SECONDARY
SONNY STYLES, 2023 — Styles is one of the best looking sophomores I’ve ever seen. To begin, he’s incredibly impressive physically. He’s every bit of 6-4 and he already looks like a college player. He’s defined, muscular and he has a strong, powerful lower half. Styles covered well and he’s got a unique combination of size and athleticism. He moved well in drills, flipped his hips relatively well and showed good coverage instincts.
Eric Rutter, Irish Breakdown
Even on the rare occasion that a receiver got a step on him, Styles showed the recovery speed needed to thrive in coverage, and his length makes him very hard to get the ball over or around. His footwork in transitions isn’t strong right now, but what I loved is that when Styles did get beat he would immediately walk over to a coach and talk through what happened. That’s something you love to see as a coach, especially for someone with such a high recruiting profile, he clearly wants to compete and get better.
Styles could play safety in the right defense, but he’s already so big and he is so good at coming downhill that I see him outgrowing that position. The rover position in the Notre Dame defense seems like a perfect spot for him due to his unique athleticism and range plus his coverage ability.
Recruiting: Styles is a mature young man and very humble and poised. He says all the right things about his family supporting whatever decision he'll make, he praises Ohio State, he praises Notre Dame and he doesn't give anything away.
JYAIRE BROWN, 2022 — Brown showed up despite suffering a major family tragedy this week. That speaks volumes about this young man, and it’s extremely positive. He was good during one-on-ones, but it was obvious he was distracted. My opinion of Brown went up a great deal.
Related Content
Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
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