Welcome back to this latest edition of the 2020 Football Recruiting Big Board! Since our last big board update, the Irish have received verbal commitments from four different prospects — receivers Jay Brunelle and Xavier Watts on offense, as well as defensive backs Landen Bartleson and Caleb Offord on defense.
With us reaching the dead period for recruiting, and with the Irish class sitting at 17 commits with maybe three or four spots left, it doesn’t make much sense to have separate big board updates at this point. So we’re now going to be doing big board updates for both offense and defense at the same time.
Let’s begin!
Offense
Position | 247C | First Name | Last Name | Temp | Hometown | State |
OG | 0.9564 | Andrew | Raym | Cold | Broken Arrow | OK |
OG | 0.9224 | Geirean | Hatchett | Cold | Ferndale | WA |
OG | 0.8799 | Jonah | Monheim | Cold | Moorpark | CA |
OT | 0.9735 | Andrew | Gentry | Cold | Littleton | CO |
OT | 0.9506 | Chad | Lindberg | Cold | League City | TX |
RB | 0.9977 | Zachary | Evans | Cold | Houston | TX |
RB | 0.9904 | Kendall | Milton | Cold | Clovis | CA |
RB | 0.9899 | Bijan | Robinson | Cold | Tucson | AZ |
RB | 0.9747 | Daniyel | Ngata | Cold | Folsom | CA |
RB | 0.9737 | Tank | Bigsby | Cold | Hogansville | GA |
RB | 0.9326 | Lawrance | Toafili | Cold | Largo | FL |
RB | 0.9221 | Michael | Drennen | Cold | Dublin | OH |
RB | 0.8789 | Kyle | Edwards | Cold | Destrehan | LA |
RB | 0.8728 | Cullen | Coleman | Cold | Rye | NY |
TE | 0.9102 | Maliq | Carr | Cold | Oak Park | MI |
WR | 0.9860 | Johnny | Wilson | Cold | Calabasas | CA |
WR | 0.9641 | Gary | Bryant | Cold | Corona | CA |
WR | 0.9428 | Arian | Smith | Cold | Lakeland | FL |
WR | 0.9142 | KeAndre | Lambert | Cold | Norfolk | VA |
WR | 0.9102 | Marvin | Mims | Cold | Frisco | TX |
WR | 0.9019 | Daniel | Jackson | Cold | Mission | KS |
WR | 0.8925 | Bryce | Gowdy | Cold | Deerfield Beach | FL |
WR | 0.8741 | Rome | Odunze | Cold | Las Vegas | NV |
Quarterback
Commits: Drew Pyne (.9315)
Slots: 1
Long-time Irish commit Drew Pyne just finished competing at the Opening and Elite 11 earlier this week. Pyne showed a lot of polish as a passer and performed very well in the 7-on-7 tournament — well enough to make the final Elite 11 group. There wasn’t any official ranking of the Elite 11, but depending on who you ask, Pyne was somewhere between #5 and #10 out of the 20 quarterbacks in attendance.
Presenting the 2019 Elite 11 🏆
Voted on by the Quarterbacks, listed alphabetically. #Tribe pic.twitter.com/HA2u8jnOWM
— Elite11 (@Elite11) July 3, 2019
Running Back
Commits: Chris Tyree (.9823)
Slots: 1
Notre Dame’s blazing fast running back commit also put on a heck of a show at the Opening. He was a big threat to make catches out of the backfield in the 7-on-7 tournament and ended up winning the Fastest Man competition, beating out Ohio State commit Julian Fleming in a final race that wasn’t even that close.
Elite running back and #NotreDame commit Chris Tyree wins the Fastest Man Competition at @TheOpening.https://t.co/3lISmoUafP@chris_tyree4 https://t.co/Cgo30QjUBV@247Sports pic.twitter.com/Fghz4ruQve
— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) July 2, 2019
Tyree’s testing numbers at the event were as follows:
40 — 4.37 seconds
Short Shuttle — 4.19 seconds
Power Ball Toss — 37 feet
Vertical — 40.8 inches
Wide Receiver
Commits: Jordan Johnson (.9844), Xavier Watts (.8777), Jay Brunelle (.8593)
Slots: 3-4
At the moment, this looks like it will be Notre Dame’s receiver haul in its entirety.
The Irish appeared to be in good position with Jalen McMillan (.9752), but a surprise commitment to Washington resulted in a painful punch in the daddybags for the ND staff and fandom alike. Notre Dame will likely not stop pursuing McMillan. Up to the day before his commitment to Washington, he was still adamant that he would take his official visit to South Bend in the fall. We’ll just have to see how this plays out. Unless a late bloomer comes along some time later in the fall, McMillan is likely the only receiver the Irish will pursue.
Tight End
Commits: Michael Mayer (.9619), Kevin Bauman (.9200)
Slots: 2
The Irish are still sitting pretty with probably the best tight end haul in the country for this class. Michael Mayer was in attendance at the Opening and dominated the event, earning MVP for the 7-on-7 tournament. He may just be due to for a ratings bump by the recruiting services in the near future.
7on7 MVP.
TE Michael Mayer (@MMayer1001) pic.twitter.com/VxtuOFneDE
— The Opening (@TheOpening) July 3, 2019
Offensive Line
Commits: Tosh Baker (.9671), Michael Carmody (.9412)
Slots: 2
Notre Dame would have preferred to land three offensive lineman this cycle, but after missing out on a couple of their top targets they appear to be deciding it’s best not to use up a scholarship just to take an extra body along the offensive line. They feel good about the pairing of Baker and Carmody, and they feel really good about where they stand with blue-chip prospects from the 2021 class.
Defense
Position | 247C | First Name | Last Name | Temp | Hometown | State |
CB | 0.9960 | Kelee | Ringo | Cold | Scottsdale | AZ |
CB | 0.9220 | Jahari | Rogers | Cold | Arlington | TX |
CB | 0.9167 | Ethan | Pouncey | Cold | Winter Park | FL |
CB | 0.8738 | William | Nixon | Cool | Waco | TX |
CB | 0.8539 | Ramon | Henderson | Cool | Bakersfield | CA |
DT | 0.9380 | Jacolbe | Cowan | Cold | Charlotte | NC |
DT | 0.9346 | Kedrick | Bingley-Jones | Cold | Charlotte | NC |
ILB | 0.9986 | Justin | Flowe | Cold | Upland | CA |
OLB | 0.9979 | Sav’ell | Smalls | Cold | Burien | WA |
OLB | 0.9479 | Prince | Dorbah | Cold | Dallas | TX |
OLB | 0.9075 | Jaheim | Thomas | Cold | Cincinnati | OH |
S | 0.9625 | Lathan | Ransom | Mild | Tucson | AZ |
S | 0.9433 | Chris | Thompson | Cold | Duncanville | TX |
S | 0.9246 | Jerrin | Thompson | Mild | Lufkin | TX |
S | 0.9194 | Kristian | Story | Cold | Lanett | AL |
S | 0.9142 | Makari | Paige | Cold | West Bloomfield | MI |
S | 0.8973 | Malcolm | Greene | Mild | Highland Springs | VA |
S | 0.8958 | Christian | Gonzalez | Cool | The Colony | TX |
S | 0.8941 | RJ | Moten | Cold | Delran | NJ |
S | 0.8839 | Mordecai | McDaniel | Cold | Washington | DC |
S | 0.8702 | Elijah | Gaines | Cool | Alexandria | VA |
S | 0.8647 | Ricky | Hyatt | Cool | Westerville | OH |
SDE | 0.9471 | Jay | Hardy | Cold | Chattanooga | TN |
SDE | 0.9466 | Myles | Murphy | Cold | Greensboro | NC |
SDE | 0.9459 | Tyler | Baron | Cold | Knoxville | TN |
SDE | 0.9223 | Alfred | Collins | Cold | Bastrop | TX |
SDE | 0.9073 | Xavier | Carlton | Cold | Draper | UT |
SDE | 0.8688 | Deontae | Craig | Cold | Culver | IN |
WDE | 0.9944 | Arik | Gilbert | Cold | Marietta | GA |
WDE | 0.9782 | Phillip | Webb | Cool | Buford | GA |
WDE | 0.9775 | Noah | Sewell | Cold | Orem | UT |
WDE | 0.9583 | Chantz | Williams | Cold | Orange Park | FL |
WDE | 0.9086 | DJ | Rogers | Cold | Sammamish | WA |
WDE | 0.8884 | Eric | Shaw | Cold | Notasulga | AL |
WDE | 0.8739 | Cam | Large | Cold | Dedham | MA |
WDE | 0.8627 | Jalen | Logan-Redding | Cold | Columbia | MO |
WDE | 0.8466 | Jared | Ivey | Cold | Suwanee | GA |
Defensive Tackle
Commits: Rylie Mills (.9412), Aiden Keanaaina (.8871)
Slots: 2
The combination of Mills at 3-tech and the Big Kahuna at noseguard is a very exciting pairing. Both are very powerful, violent players that move very well for their size. This is a good haul for the Irish.
Defensive End
Commits: Jordan Botelho (.9471), Alexander Ehrensberger (.8413)
Slots: 2-3
Notre Dame is in a pretty good spot at defensive end this cycle. Botelho is an absolute stud who fits in perfectly at drop end. He was supposed to compete at the Opening this past week, but decided not to attend so he could nurse a minor injury.
Ehrensberger is definitely underrated by the 247 Composite right now, but it’s unlikely he gets a boost any time soon. He lives in Germany, and he’s already finished his high school career, so the only way to reevaluate him is in person. I know 247 makes it out there every now and again to check out the talent overseas, but the last time that happened Ehrensberger was unable to work out due to an illness.
The Irish will likely be looking for one more drop end to finish recruiting up at defensive end. Mitchell Melton (.8668), the last serious target left on the board, just committed to Ohio State this week. The Irish may decide to kick the tires on Top 50 prospect Phillip Webb (.9782), but it’s unclear at this point if he will be a serious option down the road. We should be on the lookout for any new targets to come up once senior film starts to get evaluated, but the staff isn’t going to just take a body like they’ve had to do in the past. So there’s also a chance Notre Dame might be done at defensive end for this cycle.
Linebacker
Commits: none
Slots: 0
In what many view as a somewhat puzzling move, the Irish decided not to pursue a linebacker for this cycle. Cody Simon (.9374), the younger brother of Shayne Simon, committed to Ohio State recently.
Cornerback
Commits: Caleb Offord (.8702), Landen Bartleson (.8660), Clarence Lewis (.8647)
Slots: 3
With the commitment of Caleb Offord on Independence Day, the Irish have likely filled up at cornerback for the cycle. This haul likely won’t wow anyone that’s just looking at the recruiting ratings, but each of these guys are lengthy, athletic prospects that fit very well into the current scheme. There is a lot of potential to work with here.
Safety
Commits: none
Slots: 2
This is the area of greatest need for Notre Dame heading into the dead period, and it’s also the position on the board with the most question marks.
Lathan Ransom is the top target left on the board regardless of position, but he might make a commitment any day and the Irish are probably sitting in the #2 spot behind Ohio State for him.
Both Jerrin Thompson and Malcolm Greene have expressed interest in Notre Dame, but neither has visited yet at this time. Greene was supposed to take short visits to Notre Dame and Michigan a few weekends ago, but he ended up cancelling that Notre Dame visit and only made it to Michigan, which probably isn’t a good sign. He does have Chris Tyree in his ear for the Irish though, so we’ll see. Both players will likely be making official visits in the fall, and we’ll have a better sense of Notre Dame’s chances at that point.
Christian Gonzalez was in South Bend a couple of weekends ago on an official visit. He’s a good student and player, but for whatever reason it sounded like things just didn’t click for him on his visit.
RJ Moten seemed like a guy Notre Dame could have had a shot at, but he recently announced that he will be making his decision later this month on the 23rd. Since he has yet to visit South Bend, I’d say it won’t be happening for the Irish here.
Then there are guys like Elijah Gaines and Ricky Hyatt. Despite holding offers from the Irish, Notre Dame hasn’t been making either of them a priority. Does that change if Notre Dame misses out on Ransom and fails to make headway with Thompson or Greene? I’m not really sure. Gaines goes to the same high school as 2019 signee Litchfield Ajavon, and he’d likely be receptive if Notre Dame started to dial up the heat with him. This may also be a case of Notre Dame needing to see senior film of guys before deciding who they really want to pursue. We will likely see some new names pop up on this board later in the fall.
Recap
If anyone wants to tell you Notre Dame isn’t in a good place for 2020 recruiting right now, don’t listen to them. The Irish have a VERY good group in the fold right now, the future is just a little more murky. New names will pop up, though — it happens every year — and one or two of them will likely be very exciting prospects.
Until then, let’s hope this dead period passes us by as quickly as possible!
This is the most high end skill we’ve had in any class with kelly, and the class overall is very good but I have to admit it’s a little disappointing where things are at. No top 200 guys left on the board, so no more chase or real hope left.
And every case is different but losing mcgregor to Michigan sucked and then Ohio state losing Meyer and still landing a ton of top dudes is pretty frustrating. This class with mcgregor McMillan and a top dB would be pretty insane. FWIW, pretty ok with not getting Henning a 16 year old skill player with hip problems seems like a huge issue down the road. Really would prefer watt over Henning
New targets pop up in the fall every year, and sometimes old targets resurface.
This time last year we had no idea Foskey was a legit option. This time two years ago we’d barely heard of Jack Lamb and Houston Griffith was still committed to Florida State.
We’ll see how things play out.
Regarding OSU, a lot of recruits don’t suddenly forget about a school because a statue-worthy coach just departed. But if Ryan Day doesn’t win at the same level as Meyer did (spoiler alert: he won’t), you’ll start to see more kids view the program with skepticism. However, at the moment, they still have good momentum and can sell recruits the b.s. line that there will be no decline in performance. It still sucks to lose players to that group of choads, but there’s no shame in it either.
Can you explain a little more what you mean when you say these taller, slower corners are great fits for our scheme? Because if you were to ask me (somebody who doesn’t know a ton about DB play), I’d almost say they’re the opposite of the guys who have been good for us. Julian Love was our #1 CB and only 5’11” with solid speed. Troy Pride is our new #1 CB and is an absolute blazer, often the fastest guy on the field. Meanwhile Donte Vaughn, a big big corner, has seemed pretty terrible when he’s been on the field.
Obviously we see different things here, and in no way do I think you’re wrong. Certainly the staff wouldn’t be recruiting these guys if they weren’t great fits. So can you lay out a little what makes them great fits for the current scheme? Thanks!
I’ll chime in just to say that nearly everyone isn’t as tall as they say.
Only 1 of the top 10 corners this cycle is listed under 6’0″ and just 4 out of the top 20 and 8 out of the top 40. A whole bunch of these guys are going to be 5’10 and 5’11” in reality.
None of the three are particularly slow, though. All three ran laser-timed 40s either in the high 4.5s or low 4.6s this summer. Julian Love, for reference, ran a 4.71 the summer before his senior year of high school.
But the staff seems to making physical players with length and size a priority this cycle. They want to utilize press coverage. Love isn’t particularly fast or big but he’s an extremely physical and technically sound player. Pride is blazing fast but he also has that physicality.
A big part of it is if they’re actually able to use that speed. It doesn’t matter if a player is an absolute burner at the 40, if he doesn’t have agility or can’t read the play, he said going to play a lot slower. Julian Love wasn’t that great at the 40 yard dash for a corner, but anyone who has watched him knows he has great ability to read a play and get between the pass and the intended receiver.
Awesome, thanks to all 3 of you for the explanations.
I don’t know what our chances look like with Dontae Manning (CB), but he just decommitted from Oklahoma. I thought I remembered seeing something in an old recruiting post about how we could potentially flip him, but when I searched the site I couldn’t come up with anything.
He will probably be committing to Texas A&M soon. Unlikely ND makes a a move