2017 Recruiting: Defensive Line Grades

On National Signing Day, we posted an overview of the 2017 Notre Dame recruiting class with recruit grades and some thoughts on the class. This is the third post of a four-part series that will dive into a little more detail on the class, following Monday’s recap of the Irish’s offensive skill position signees and yesterday’s look at the offensive line signees. Today we flip to the other side of the trenches to review the defensive linemen that the Irish signed in this cycle.

The transcript of Brian Kelly’s signing day press conference can be found here.

Defensive Line Signees

DT Darnell Ewell

18S Average: 90.3

Brendan: 92

Ewell is all business, the classic lunchpail guy. He doesn’t need hype – he wants to punch in, kick some ass, and punch out. I love that mentality in a lineman, on either side of the ball. He might step onto campus and instantly be one of our strongest defensive linemen in terms of upper body power. He has work to do with lower body strength, which could keep him off the field or at least keep him in a limited role early. But he’s a physical monster for his age and he’s very serious about perfecting his craft, so I don’t see that as a long-term concern. Notre Dame’s rare foray into the Hampton Roads area will pay big dividends.

Eric: 90

Ewell is strong and stout in the front line. Physically, he should be ready to play as a freshman. He’s a little slow off the snap and even for 4A Hampton Roads football some of his top plays in high school are against some tiny offensive linemen. That makes me a little less hyped about his strength but still quite excited. A lack of height probably prevents him from becoming a dominant lineman. Still, about as out-of-the-box ready to take snaps as the Irish have seen in several cycles.

Jaden: 89

Ewell is probably one of the best bets of anyone to get playing time this year. He looks great physically and carries mostly all good weight. He is a tenacious defender. Ewell looks really powerful in film and drives well. At a position that Notre Dame struggles to get elite talent, Ewell is potentially the most important recruit in this class.

Tyler: 90

Ewell will see the field this fall, I have very little doubts about that. He’s physically ready to play right now at about 6’4″/300 pounds. He also looks amazingly well-built for a guy of that size, too. Normally at this stage the bigger guys have some baby fat still on them, but Darnell looks like a grown ass man. The Irish are getting a really strong, physical guy who hasn’t yet reached his ceiling as a football player.

DT Kurt Hinish

18S Average: 87.0

Brendan: 87

Count me in the group that thinks Hinish is underrated. I like this kid a lot – it’s a tall order for any lineman to contribute immediately, but I definitely think he has starter potential. He gets off the ball really well, has good power and a good bull rush, quick and violent hands, and surprising lateral agility for a guy his size. His high school team even used him off the edge quite a bit his senior year, and he was good there (no, he can’t play on the edge for Notre Dame). Don’t be surprised if Hinish turns into a starting 3-tech after a couple of seasons of development.

Eric: 88

Stupidly underrated. A bit of a throwback player from Western Pennsylvania, the type of Big Skill player the Irish used to stockpile decades ago. An impressive athlete. The biggest question for me is how high Hinish’s ceiling will be and how much room for growth he as an interior lineman. He’s jet quick off the line and with that speed too physical to be stopped. Hinish has great control of his body and changes directions well for his size. He should be a productive penetrating tackle at Notre Dame.

Jaden: 86

Kurt is a technician. He uses his hands really well to shed blocks, and he’s quick off the ball. Probably his best trait, though, is his motor. Hinish is someone that you are just happy to have in your class. He will work his butt off and doesn’t need to do a ton of reshaping to be ready for the next level. I’d expect Hinish to be a multi-year starter for Notre Dame.

Tyler: 87

Hinish kind of reminds me of Sheldon Day at times with his style of play. I’m not trying to set the bar too high here. Kurt has a way to go. But with that relentless motor and hustle, it’s hard not to like the kid as a prospect.

SDE Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa

18S Average: 88.0

Brendan: 90

I’m going to sound like I’m copying the other guys here, but I can’t believe how well Myron moves at his size (I highly doubt he’s the 270 noted on his 247 profile or the 250 noted on his und.com Signing Day bio). Even if he does move inside eventually, with that mix of power and quickness I like his pass rushing potential. Given his physical development at this point we might see him contribute immediately, but whatever happens he’ll definitely be an impact player before he’s done. Jamie Uyeyama, Irish Sports Daily analyst and longtime friend of the 18S crew, tweeted that he believes Myron is the most disruptive defensive lineman the Irish have signed since Sheldon Day in the 2012 cycle. High praise indeed, and what a great late pickup by Brian Polian and the Irish.

Eric: 88

Myron looks 320 in street clothes but plays like he’s 250, so I’m excited. He moves incredibly well for his size. Exceptionally well, actually. He already has massive legs and once his upper body sees a couple years in the strength program he’s destined to play on the interior. I think we’ll see either a really agile nose guard or pretty solid two-deep defensive tackle.

Jaden: 86

Myron looks like a great late addition to this class. There’s no doubt that he makes Notre Dame feel at least a little better about the DL class with him in the fold. He’s really just a massive kid. It’d be expected that he moves inside to a 3-tech eventually, and he has all the looks of a really solid player. Myron shows a great motor and actually does a really impressive job of containing the QB and funneling him up. For his size, he seems to get off the ball and have a little quickness, too.

Tyler: 88

Much more agile than you would expect from a guy of his size, which is why I think he could end up staying at defensive end. If he fills out the way he should, though, he’ll end up being a defensive tackle. And a guy who can move like that on the interior is dangerous both as a threat to penetrate gaps and get tackles for loss, and a guy who can get after the quarterback in passing situations.

SDE Jonathon MacCollister

18S Average: 80.8

For you 18S trivia buffs out there, MacCollister had the widest range of grades of any signee in this class at eight points. Jonathan Jones was last year’s Most Controversy-Generating Signee with, coincidentally, also an eight point range.

Brendan: 82

Evaluating MacCollister is tough, given that there’s no solid senior film or analyst write-ups about him out there. From his junior tape, he looks like a kid who has loads of physical ability and not much polish; he is, in Taoist terms, the Uncarved Block. I like what I see and I think he’ll be a solid player in a couple of years, but for right now, he’s definitely a wild card who needs development. If you’re looking for a sign of how much he loves Notre Dame, consider that he made the 17-hour drive from Florida to Irish Invasion by himself and committed basically right after he parked on campus.

Eric: 76

My lowest rated recruit of the class. MacCollister will have to improve a lot to break into the starting rotation in the future. He’s probably not quick enough to stay at defensive end and that means a lot of added weight to play inside. My biggest concern is that I don’t see much physicality which isn’t a huge deal at this weight but it’ll have to be developed considerably over the next couple years.

Jaden: 84

I really like MacCollister’s frame. In his film, he looks really put together, and clearly has some athleticism. He’s going to need some time bulking up, but I expect him to contribute in the new system. He’s someone who will need some technical work, but he has the tools to develop into a really good player with some coaching.

Tyler: 81

Notre Dame is getting a raw, athletic player in MacCollister. While Notre Dame recruited him as a defensive end, other schools saw him as a fit on the other side of the ball at tight end. He will require time to bulk up enough to play the big end position and develop as a football player, but you have to like his upside.

WDE Kofi Wardlow

18S Average: 80.8

Brendan: 83

I’m a bit more bullish on Wardlow than my compatriots. His snap anticipation is kind of hit (from a two-point stance) or miss (from a three-point), which makes me think he has the physical ability to get off the line quickly but needs to learn the game better. He has good speed for a defensive end and isn’t that far off on size – maybe 20 pounds away from his ideal weight. It’s also worth noting that he only has two seasons of football in the books, as he only came out for the team as a junior. He’s all potential right now, but if he can develop mentally he has the physical tools he needs to make a contribution.

Eric: 78

Solid prospect. Wardlow looks a little under-sized and slow off the snap. Those aren’t great attritbutes for a defensive end prospect. His ceiling is probably somewhere around Prince Shembo but could get lost in the shuffle at Notre Dame.

Jaden: 81

Kofi’s first two highlights in his film show him run really well. With that being said, he never really gets a good jump off the snap. He’s clearly an athlete, though, who can certainly get better at timing things up and getting off quickly. The good news is that Kofi can take a year and really go to town in the weight room. He has a decent frame, and right now Notre Dame needs athletes to develop at the rush end position. Well, here we have one. He certainly has the tools to make an impact in the coming years.

Tyler: 81

He has a lot of work to do before he should see the field. As the others are saying, he needs to work on anticipating the snap better. And he doesn’t have much as far as technique goes. He has some really good physical tools, though. If, as Eric thinks is possible, he ends up looking like Prince Shembo on the field after a few years, I think we should be happy with that.