Notre Dame picked up its second commit in the 2024 class – and second defensive lineman – when four-star prospect Owen Wafle announced for the Irish on CBS Sports. The 6’3″, 270-pound (what are they feeding these kids?!?) New Jerseyan visited Notre Dame in March, at which point buzz began to grow that the Irish had taken a sizable lead in his recruitment. He made a strong connection quickly with defensive line coach Al Washington and defensive coordinator Al Golden – Wafle actually went to Red Bank Catholic, Golden’s old high school, for a year before moving to The Hun School, where he is now. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back for your excellent memory if that school sounds vaguely familiar, as Wafle also shares it with two former Irish players – current Ball State defensive coordinator Tyler Stockton and all-time spring game hall of famer Junior Jabbie. (And a Notre Dame classmate of mine and all around good dude, All-American fencer Carl Jackson. But I digress.) (Also Red Bank Catholic is the alma mater of Quenton Nelson and Kevin Bauman. But again, I digress.)

247 and Rivals currently list Wafle at edge, but with his frame there’s no way he’ll actually end up there – he’ll definitely get bigger, and he’s just as definitely a future nose guard. He joins Brandon Davis-Swain as very good interior prospects to kick off the ’24 class. His cohort is decent if unspectacular right now, but even as a committed prospect I would expect that to change. A couple of weeks ago he talked about having 30 schools come through in a single week to watch their practices. The Irish staff had an excellent sense of timing getting on this kid when they did.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.9201 rating), #175 overall, #14 EDGE, #5 in NJ

On3 Consensus — 4 star (89.00 rating), #210 overall, #19 DL, #4 in NJ

The 247 Composite is based on a proprietary algorithm that combines the 247, Rivals, and ESPN rankings. The On3 Consensus is similar, but also includes On3’s own rankings.

247Sports — 4 star (90 rating), #218 overall, #18 EDGE, #4 in NJ

Rivals — 4 star (5.8 rating), #182 overall, #12 SDE, #4 in NJ

ESPN — Not evaluated

On3 — 3 star (87 rating), NR overall, NR DL, NR in NJ

Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama does the recruit evaluations for ISD, and we trust his evals as much as anyone’s. So while the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus don’t factor in ISD evals, we put a lot of weight on them ourselves.

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (90 rating)

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Wafle holds offers from Boston College, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia, among others.

Highlights

Not surprisingly, one keyword that would be appropriate throughout is “raw.” Wafle is a whirling dervish of energy that at times seems like he doesn’t really have any idea how to use his physical talents. That said, keep in mind that this is sophomore film… Wafle is likely one of the youngest guys on the field and he absolutely rag dolls a number of kids. There are a couple of plays where he takes the opposing tackle and, nothing fancy, just overpowers and walks him back into the backfield. His motor is very good – he’s more than willing to chase down anything. That’s all good, but what really jump out for me are his first step, which is often explosive, and his acceleration, which is absolutely outstanding. Not good, outstanding.

I like a lot of stuff on this reel, but the play at 0:50 is the one that made me sit up and pay attention. A kid that big and that young has no business accelerating that quickly. My goodness. If he can maintain that athleticism as he closes in on 300 pounds, he will be an absolute load to manage on the interior. He needs to be more consistent with his get-off and refine leverage and hands, but hey, like I said, this is sophomore film. The mix of size, power, and speed he has is rare.

Impact

Irish defensive line recruiting is at another level right now; we’re not in 2018 or 2019 anymore, when Jayson Ademilola and Jacob Lacey had to step into the rotation as true freshmen. The 2023 class alone could end up three commits ranked higher than Ademilola was (#128) and four higher than Jacob Lacey was (#172). That’s a good thing. For Wafle, it likely means he won’t go beyond the four game redshirt preservation threshold as a freshman. I could definitely see him growing into a rotational role as a sophomore and a front-line role as an upperclassman though. It’s so hard to project kids this young, but I could see a ceiling of a bigger, faster version of Kurt Hinish. I think all of us would sign up for that right now.

Welcome to the Irish family, Owen!

P.S. Yes, it was really hard to avoid making any breakfast food related puns. Thanks for asking.