2017 Recruiting: Back Seven 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 final installment of a four-part series that dove into a little more detail on the class, following Monday’s recap of the Irish’s offensive skill position signees, Tuesday’s look at the offensive line signees, and yesterday’s review of the defensive line signees. Today we dig into the defensive back seven signees to round out the class.

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

Back Seven Signees

ILB David Adams

18S Average: 85.0

Brendan: 88

Adams got a bit of a bum rap during Army week, as an elbow injury he had been fighting with for a while limited his effectiveness. He’s a bit small but plays bigger than his size, showing great anticipation and an attacking mindset. I especially love how quickly he gets headed downhill when he reads run – the kid doesn’t mess around, and he brings the lumber when he gets there. He should fit very well in the middle of Mike Elko’s defense.

Eric: 83

Quality down-hill middle linebacker. Sniffs plays out well, moves through traffic and has a nose for the ball. You know, middle linebacker stuff! Doesn’t display a ton of power but I love the way he wraps up. That will prove to be more valuable in college as he gets stronger. Maybe not as glamorous when compared to Nyles Morgan at the same age but Adams is a solid prospect who could develop into a quality two-deep defender.

Jaden: 85

Adams is one commit that I think is kind of an unknown. His stock has recently dropped, but he also played through a torn UCL all season. In his film, Adams really drives well through tackles. He looks pretty athletic in coverage, but will need work to get comfortable out there in drops. There has also been at least some speculation about his actual size. Some rumors put him closer to 6’0, but he also just posted a picture of him with BK, and he makes Kelly look miniscule. He has some weight to put on and can hopefully redshirt this year, but Adams is a guy that can be a future mainstay in the middle of Notre Dame’s defense.

Tyler: 84

I think David will end up being a solid player for Notre Dame in the future. He’s a pretty good — but not great — athlete. He’s also a little small but he makes up for his deficiencies with his toughness, smarts, and instincts.

ILB Drew White

18S Average: 88.5

Brendan: 89

Drew White is this class’s ratings puzzler. He has an older brother who plays for Auburn. He puts up big numbers for St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the highest-profile programs in Florida. He just finished his third consecutive Florida 7A state championship season and was named by USA Today to the All-State first team for all classifications, alongside some names you might recognize – Joshua Kaindoh, Jarez Parks, Dylan Moses, Deandre Wilder, Robert Porcher… There’s every reason for him to be at least a top 250 kid, and yet the 247 Composite has him as the #950 overall player in the country. Yes, he had an injury that knocked him out of the last few games of his junior season, but still… Anyway, David Adams might have better accolades, but Drew White could well turn out to be the better player. I think he looks like a great Will candidate, mixing speed and quickness with power and tenacity. I could seem him cracking the two deep as a sophomore.

Eric: 88

Fantastic feet on this kid. White has really great quickness and doesn’t let his speed over-extend himself while tackling. Quick feet, calm feet. I’m on board with White being very underrated. Power and size could be an issue, though. Otherwise, he’s one of the more promising linebacker commits of the Kelly era.

Jaden: 89

Drew White is just a straight baller. He sifts through traffic really well and is highly efficient in his route to the ball. His competition is the highest in the state and best in the nation, including many highlights against Bishop Gorman. White also shows good closing speed. The play at the 2:58 mark of his shows impressive speed and pursuit on the QB, and he makes a huge tackle. Everything is just done so precisely and quickly. There is never any wasted movement. As everyone else has mentioned, I’m not sure how he can be ranked where he is. Drew White is going to be a big time linebacker for Notre Dame.

Tyler: 88

I haven’t spoken with very many people who DON’T think Drew is at least a little underrated by most of the recruiting services. He did suffer an injury during his junior year and didn’t attend many camps, so that probably has something to do with it. Still, his production in the highest level of Florida high school football was fantastic, and he looked so good doing it. I’m not sure what some of these scouts aren’t seeing.

S Isaiah Robertson

18S Average: 88.5

Brendan: 86

As you might expect from a two-way player who stands 6’3″, Robertson showcases outstanding ball skills as both a receiver and a defensive back. He also run fills aggresively and pretty clearly has had some good coaching on how to tackle, as whether he’s in traffic or the open field he shows nice form and effectiveness. Given that he’s an early enrollee it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him in the safety two-deep in the fall, and I could see him eventually becoming the starting free safety. Also, like CJ Holmes, he has been a glue guy in the 2017 class.

Eric: 89

A safety that loves to get low during tackles!!?? What is this wizardry? For the third straight year my dark horse pick for sneaky good recruit comes from the secondary, this time at safety instead of corner. I love Robertson’s combination of size and speed. His safety skills remind a little bit of Devin Studstill from last year except a little more rangy and taller. My favorite part is his explosion in and out of cuts. Even though he’s slated to play defense he really gets out of his stance super quick as a receiver. I think we’ll be very happy with his career.

Jaden: 91

Of all our commits, I thought Robertson’s film was the most fun to watch. Man does he bring it. First, as a receiver, he plays the ball in the air so well. I’m excited to see that translate to the defensive side of the ball. Defensively, Robertson can hit. He comes down hard time and time again and makes both technically sound, but also huge tackles. His length is also really enticing. As he adds more weight onto his frame over the next couple years, Robertson should be a big-time safety for Notre Dame — something we haven’t had for a long time.

Tyler: 88

Isaiah has great size and length, good athleticism, excellent ball skills, and sound tackling ability — all things you like to see in a free safety. He has some basic technical things to shore up, but he’s got plenty of time to improve upon that area of his game being an early enrollee. With the depth at safety right now, I expect him to see the field this year and I’m excited to see what he can do.

S Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

18S Average: 87.8

Brendan: 89

Props for having a screenshot of his SAT score as the first frame of his highlight reel, and further props for a 1310 SAT score… After that, the first thing that stands out on Jeremiah’s film is his football ability – he can run, he can change direction, he can hit, he catches the ball like a receiver, his blitz timing and play recognition are excellent, and his closing speed is tremendous. The second thing is his very impressive versatility. He’s the deep safety on one play, the middle linebacker on the next, the slot corner on the next, the defensive end on the next – and then his tape switches over to offense. He seems like a perfect candidate for the rover position in Elko’s scheme. I could see this kid being a monster in a couple of years. He has multi-year starter written all over him.

Eric: 85

Here’s a big rangy safety! If there’s any way to keep this kid at the back end that would be great. He’s so long that he should easily gain weight which means long-term he’s a linebacker. Comparisons to Spencer Perry last year are fair but I like Owusu-Koramoah a little more. He has excellent feet for his size, even better than some corner prospects the Irish have recruited in recent years. Overall, so much to be excited about, although I’d bump him up to a 88 or 89 if I knew which positon he’d settle at right away.

Jaden: 89

Owusu-Koramoah is without question one of the most exciting defenders in this class. He’s so long and has some obvious upside. Whether he plays strong safety or rover, he is going to provide instant versatility for Elko’s defense. He pursues the ball extremely well and is really aggressive in his tackling. I personally think he has the athleticism to play important snaps on defense this year, and Mike Elko will find a place to maximize his skillset. You can’t give enough credit to the staff for finishing the class with the likes of Owusu-Koramoah. Forget the star ranking, this kid has all the makings of a legitmate, long-term playmaker.

Tyler: 88

There’s a reason people consider him a perfect prospect for Elko’s Rover position. Athletic enough to play strong safety, physical and comfortable enough in the box to play linebacker. Extremely versatile athlete. I expect to see him on the field on special teams this fall. Put another 25 pounds on him and he could be something special.

S Jordan Genmark Heath

18S Average: 84.3

Brendan: 85

Genmark-Heath’s technique is pretty raw, but he has a D1 physique already and his recognition skills are very good. His top end speed isn’t elite, but he accelerates well and cuts without losing speed. That and his power make him very dangerous with the ball in his hands. His power also helps him level some guys – I started to feel bad for some of the kids he threw around like rag dolls on both sides of the ball. He’ll need some time to develop, but I like his potential at rover or even Will quite a bit. His recognition skills and his Ivy League offer list give me more confidence that he’ll be able to develop, as well.

Eric: 83

JGH jumps out as a good player. Across the board he’d get a good grade from me in size, speed, physicality, smarts, and playmaking. My big issue is his ceiling and future position. He’s well built at 205, can he put on more weight without slowing down? Does he he fall into the tweener black hole around 220 pounds? I hate to project the past of other players on a new recruit but Notre Dame never seems to develop these type of hybrid players. I am glad they were able to flip him late in the process, you never know what could happen.

Jaden: 85

Genmark Heath is a physical dude. On both offense and defense, he’s coming at you fast. I actually came away pleased with his speed, too. He’s a fluid athlete for his size already, and he looks to have pretty solid ball skills. The main knock is his tacking technique. It’s not good right now. But, hey, that’s what coaches are for! I really think Genmark Heath will play a big role on the defense in a couple years. His main thing is he’s going to have to play under control. He’s going to come flying in, but the real quetion will be if he can break down and finish the play.

Tyler: 84

Jordan hasn’t been playing football in America for very long, and it shows in his technique. Like so many others at this stage, he used pure athleticism and strength to dominate opponents in high school. He will definitely need time to hone his craft and learn whichever position Elko plans on placing him (strong safety or Rover, probably). He’s got good potential, though.