Shayne Simon became the 14th Notre Dame commit of the 2018 cycle when he announced for the Irish today. The 6’3″, 215-pound athlete’s star has ascended steadily over the last few months, as he has put in some very impressive camp performances and moved into the top 150 in the 247 Composite. Earlier in his recruitment, many observers had Simon headed to Michigan – the Wolverines badly wanted him, and his mother and aunt are Michigan alumnae. While Irish fans engaged in much hand-wringing over Michigan in this race, UCLA was just as much of a presence in Simon’s recruitment as well. This was truly an impressive recruiting win for Mike Elko and Notre Dame.

Shayne’s visit to Notre Dame for the spring game provided a huge surge for the Irish. The St. Peter’s Prep product was unofficially hosted by St. Peter’s alum and newly-minted QB1 Brandon Wimbush on that visit, and his current and future teammates Jayson and Justin Ademilola made sure that momentum kept rolling forward. Simon’s Irish Invasion visit just about wrapped up his recruitment, save for a final, brief visit to Michigan that did nothing to stem the Irish tide.

The recruiting services listed Simon as a safety at the beginning of this cycle, but as he has grown and shown more versatility most have reclassified him as a linebacker (except ESPN, but who takes them seriously anyway?). That versatility gives a clue as to how the Irish staff views him – he was an absolute top of the board target at the rover position. In fact, he may have been the board at rover. Mike Elko targeted his guy and got him.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Composite — 4 star (.9447), #132 overall, #6 OLB, #3 in NJ

247 Sports — 4 star (93 rating), #115 overall, #8 OLB, #3 in NJ

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #138 overall, #9 OLB, #4 in NJ

Scout — 4 star, #152 overall, #11 OLB, #5 in NJ

ESPN — 4 star (82 rating), #210 overall, #17 S, #5 in NJ

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Michigan, and UCLA, Shayne Simon also holds offers from Duke, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin, among others.

Highlights

Simon’s highlight reel feels an awful lot Drue Tranquill’s Blue-Gold Game highlight reel. He’s used all over the field – at the line, in the box, and in coverage – and does very well wherever he is. On the first play, he lines up man-to-man over a wideout and runs right with him to haul in an interception way downfield. On the next play, he walks up to the line and comes flying off the edge for a strip sack. Then he’s a safety in zone coverage near the goal line and drives on the ball for another pick. Then he lines up as an inside linebacker, diagnoses run quickly, and shoots through pulling blockers for a big tackle for loss. You get the idea.

I really can’t find anything negative to say. He could use a little technique work on tackling and pass rushing, but that’s hardly unusual. What’s quite obvious is that he moves very easily in space, he diagnoses quickly, he’s a determined block-shedder, and he closes like he was shot out of a cannon. And he has that versatility – he’s fast enough to legitimately cover downfield, and he’s strong enough to be a real threat in the box. He can do a little bit of everything, and the Rover spot is a perfect way to put that plus athleticism to good use in a lot of different ways.

Impact

At 6’3″ and 215 and gifted with excellent agility and explosiveness, Shayne Simon already has the physical tools he’ll need to play right away at the next level. However, it’s difficult to project how likely an immediate impact is given that we haven’t seen Elko’s defense or personnel usage for ourselves yet, so we don’t know what the learning curve looks like or how free Elko is with playing newbies. Plus, remember that in the 2017 cycle the Irish signed Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who is tailor-made for the Rover spot, and Jordan Genmark Heath, who is a strong safety now but could grow into a Rover.

My guess is that Simon will be an immediate contributor on special teams and then start to work into the rotation as a sophomore, before challenging for a starting spot as an upperclassman. However it works out, Notre Dame is getting a very talented player with a very bright future.

Welcome to the Irish family, Shayne!