In Part 1 of this series we looked at the freshmen of the 2020 recruiting class, the impact they made last fall, and their immediate future with Notre Dame. Today we’ll look at the defense where there’s a distinctly different feel to a smaller group that, outside of one player, didn’t make a big impact during the Fighting Irish run to the playoffs in 2020.

Part 1 – Offense CLICK HERE

247 Composite grades are followed by our 18 Stripes grades from our 2020 recruiting review.

Defensive Line

Jordan Botelho
247C: 0.947
18S: 94.3

Botelho was largely limited to special teams in 2020, including THAT crushing end zone hit on the poor USF punter early in the season. He was ideally suited to this role as a freshman as a mobile, fast lineman with a mean streak. But, that mean streak reportedly brought some struggles within the program that tested his fit in South Bend but have been ironed out for the better moving forward.

Stock: Up

Everything is lining up for Botelho to be a major contributor in his second season on campus. He’s at worst the backup at weak-side end, potentially a starter, and a flexible enough player with the speed and agility to become a major weapon in Freeman’s new defense.

Rylie Mills
247C: 0.930
18S: 86.8

There were times last year during a tight game when I’d notice big #99 on the field and that’s a huge compliment for Mike Elston to trust him amongst so many veteran players. Mills only totaled 7 tackles on the season but picked up at least 0.5 tackles for loss in each of the last 3 regular season games.

Stock: Up

Mills doesn’t play as glamorous of a position as Botelho and will need to continue working on his physicality in the trenches behind an experienced senior. However, he’s one of those players who could really jump out to fans who aren’t paying super close attention to the entire roster. Plus, during the spring game he saw some time on the edge which adds to his allure as possible impact player in 2021.

Aidan Keanaaina
247C: 0.887
18S: 86.3

We still haven’t seen much from Keanaaina in his short career so our comments will be brief. He’s an absolute unit (listed at 6’3″ and 312 pounds) with a very different profile to every other defensive linemen on the team. At his weight, he’s the 3rd heaviest player on the entire team and he’s 16 pounds heavier than the 2nd biggest defensive lineman (Hinish) up front.

Stock: Down

We’ll see how Keanaaina develops in the coming months but for now he appears to be towards the bottom of the depth chart and shouldn’t have an impact in 2021. I think we can realistically assess his position once the veteran Hinish finishes his career and nose guard reps open up a bit more.

Alexander Ehrensberger
247C: 0.841
18S: 80.0

The big German made only 2 tackles last year in extremely limited duty but came away with 1 sack and a tackle for loss in those opportunities. If he gets full playing time, my goodness, he’s on pace for something like 87 sacks and 194 tackles for loss in a season! That’s just the numbers!

Stock: Steady

Ehrensberger is just a shade under 6’7″ and looks like an animate marble sculpture prowling the football field and yet he’s only listed at 252 pounds. I had imagined he’d be growing into a Jumbo end and it’s possible we’re another year away from that happening. He’s so tall and came in with so little experience that this project looks to continue.

Linebacker

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Corner

Caleb Offord
247C: 0.877
18S: 84.0

To date, the Composite and 18 Stripes grades are inverted compared to the pecking order for these 3 corners heading into 2021. Following spring practice, it seems as though Offord is at best the No. 5 corner on the team and that’s largely before the 2021 freshmen make a serious move during August camp.

Stock: Down

It’s funny because not that long ago it seemed like any young corner could shoot up the depth chart but this spring solidified the group a little more than we imagined was possible after the 2020 season. Offord (184 pounds) doesn’t seem like a candidate to move to safety and will have to fight for more playing time at corner.

Ramon Henderson
247C: 0.870
18S: 83.0

The situation for Henderson isn’t all that different from his classmate Offord, although during spring practice it seemed as though the former was more impactful and stuck out more to us all. Like Offord, he brings good length at 6’1″ but is still on the lighter side (189 pounds) to bring positional flexibility at safety.

Stock: Steady

Long-term I still like Henderson to out-perform his 18 Stripes grade. I’ve been talking about him switching to safety for so long that it feels like he’s older than a 2020 recruit. He could make a small impact this fall but he’s probably ready for a big jump in 2022.

Clarence Lewis
247C: 0.864
18S: 82.5

Our second lowest rated recruit on defense, and from the entire 2020 class in fact, earned a starting job at corner in his first year on campus. What an amazing story! Lewis finished 5th on the team in tackles while breaking up 7 passes and forcing 1 fumble. He was also named ACC defensive back of the week for his 12 tackle performance against Syracuse.

Stock: Up, Significantly

It remains to be seen if Lewis will develop into a dominant corner or if 2020 was a case of a mature freshman with a higher floor capable of stepping into a thin depth chart. At any rate, he’s already incredibly experienced and will get the opportunity to show us how much he can raise his ceiling in the coming years.

Safety

***FILE NOT FOUND***

Recap

Only 7 defensive recruits in this class is quite shocking. The 2022 class yet to sign is already at 6 defenders. The decision to skip linebacker and safety has been debated endlessly leading up to this class coming to Notre Dame and in the months that have since past. In a vacuum, this is far from a championship-level defensive class.

Lewis being a freshman gem has provided a quick boost to a modest group. Botelho and Mills should provide further positive signs this upcoming year. Still, how much more can we expect from such a small group that wasn’t exactly teeming with blue-chip recruits?