Notre Dame worked its second flip of the week on the recruiting trail when former Colorado pledge Josh Bryan announced his commitment to the Irish. Rumors have been floating for a while that the Notre Dame staff had some interest in the 6’0″, 190-pound Californian, but in what was originally expected to be a tight class it didn’t look like the numbers would work out. With all the wackiness around COVID leading the NCAA to suspend the scholarship limit for next season, though, space was suddenly easier to come by. Nobody has any clarity on 2022 yet, although the assumption from most coaches is that the 85 limit will be back in place. Nonetheless, for one year every program will have a lot of flexibility.
Those of you who, like me, follow recruiting to an unhealthy level may already be familiar with Chris Sailer. For those who aren’t, Sailer runs arguably the most highly-regarded specialist camp in the country and maintains his own list of specialist recruit rankings. He has Bryan as a “six-star,” which is a Power 5 freshman starter, the #1 kicker, and the #35 punter in the 2021 class. Yes, he can also punt – he’s a better placekicker right now, but that’s good flexibility to have available.
Here’s Sailer’s scouting report on Bryan:
Josh is simply a phenomenal high school kicking prospect. A great athlete with big time college potential. He hits a pure ball on field goal off the ground. He gets big time lift on his ball and has 60+ yard range. His kickoffs are excellent, D1 ready. He drives the ball deep in the end zone with 4.0+ hang time. Also a capable punter. He is a major competitor that thrives under pressure. Josh continues to prove that he is the best kicker in America in the Class of 2021. I look forward to seeing what the future holds. A fine young man that is always a pleasure to work with. One of the hardest workers out there. Josh is a scholarship pick without a doubt. Big time prospect.
Recruiting Service Rankings
Sailer —Â 6 star (6.0 rating), #1 kicker
247Sports Composite — 3 star (.8003 rating), #2198 overall, #7 K, #177 in CA
247Sports — 2 star (79 rating), NR overall, #9 K, #304 in CA
Rivals — 2 star (5.4 rating), NR overall, NR K, NR in CA
ESPN — Not evaluated
Irish Sports Daily — Not evaluated
Cohort
In addition to Notre Dame and Colorado, Bryan holds offers from Air Force, Army, Navy, and Yale. It’s worth pointing out here that many programs, even the bluebloods, prefer to use walk-ons for the specialist positions. Brian Kelly obviously has had a different approach at Notre Dame; given the quality of his group of scholarship kicker signees – Kyle Brindza, Justin Yoon, and Jon Doerer – and how much some of those blueblood programs have been hurt by kicking woes, I’d say it’s a smart approach to take. As far as Bryan’s offer list, I would just highlight the Yale offer and his reported 4.08 GPA; clearly this is a kid who is likely to handle the academic rigor of Notre Dame.
Highlights
Junior season:
Sophomore season:
I dunno. He, uh, kicks the ball really hard. Actually, I was impressed by his play as a linebacker here – not that he has a future there at the next level, but that it shows impressive athleticism. I mean, a placekicker who had 123 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 picks as a sophomore? You have my attention.
Impact
If Doerer does indeed return for 2021, Bryan will likely take a redshirt. I would imagine he’ll take a four-game redshirt, perhaps taking a few extra points and kickoffs in games that get out of hand. If Doerer doesn’t return, I think Bryan will step right into the starting role on placekicks and kickoffs. \I would expect him to be our starting kicker for four years whether the clock starts in 2021 or 2022.
Welcome to the Irish family, Josh!
“given the quality of his group of scholarship kicker signees – Kyle Brindza, Justin Yoon, and Jon Doerer – and how much some of those blueblood programs have been hurt by kicking woes, I’d say it’s a smart approach to take.”
Agreed wholeheartedly. Though it is funny when Nick Saban gets the clueless look on his face about why his kicker let him down again and that seems to happen to him in the majority of his losses. If only there was a way he could recruit a kicker…
I think that it is great when we, as fans, can take good kicking for granted in recent years. Kicking is a part of the game that you only tend to notice when your team has a bad kicker, so I’m glad that BK has kept a focus on having a good one around.
Fixed the recruiting service eval info – the astute among you may have noticed that I copy-pasted from the Riley recommit post.
The devil is in the details, as ND marketing professor Brian Aiken (RIP) was fond of saying.
Busy day for commit posts
Another post on deck too — Kia just picked ND
I was pre-writing a different one when Kia popped…
The suspense!
It’s super weird to me that colleges don’t use scholarships on kickers, punters, and long snappers. NFL teams have significantly more-constricted rosters and use roster spots on each. Seems pretty obvious to do so, but apparently not, so good on the staff for prioritizing that.
Especially someone like Saban, who worked with Belichick. If Belichick had 85 roster spots you know he would have 4 kickers and 2 LS and 6 gunners.
The Patriots released an All-Dynasty team not too long ago and I think it had 2 longsnappers on it. Classic Belichick.