Fighting Irish football received its 15th verbal from the class of 2017 tonight, as offensive lineman Robert Hainsey committed to Notre Dame at The Opening. The 247 Composite ranks the 6’5″/275-pounder out of IMG Academy (originally from Western Pennsylvania) as the #70 overall player and the #4 offensive guard in the country.

This marks the second verbal commitment Notre Dame has received from this year’s Opening, as 4-star running back CJ Holmes committed to the Irish on Friday.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 — 4 star (94 rating), #108 overall, #6 OG, #22 in FL

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #64 overall, #11 OT, NR in FL

Scout — 4 star, #111 overall, #16 OT, #17 in FL

ESPN — 4 star (84 rating), #80 overall, #2 OG, #18 in FL

247 Composite — 4 star (.9640), #70 overall, #4 OG, #17 in FL

Cohort

Robert chose the Irish over other offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, and many others. He’s been a highly recruited prospect, particularly by schools east of the Mississippi River.

Highlights

Hainsey’s highlights show strong, physical player. His highlights consist of pancake after pancake after pancake. He plays nasty and mean, and he’s very clearly searching for someone to de-cleat on every play.

With that in mind, he clearly excels as a run-blocker at this stage. He keeps a low pad level, fires off the ball, and has a pretty good initial punch. However, like many high school offensive linemen, he will need work on pass protection. He can get anxious at times, and gets so caught up in trying to put guys on their backs that he ends up reaching for them. That’s definitely something that he can work on, though. With more experience, he should grow more patient in pass protection and keep from reaching.

Impact

Robert Hainsey’s commitment is just further evidence of Harry Hiestand’s dominance as an OL recruiter. Hainsey is Notre Dame’s third OL commit this cycle, along with 3-star guard Dillan Gibbons and 4-star tackle Josh Lugg (whose upside is as high as anybody else in the country). And while they may have missed out on 5-star guard Wyatt Davis (he committed to Ohio State a few weeks ago), Hainsey is as good of a consolation prize as any.

Despite having three talented commits already in the fold, Notre Dame is not yet finished recruiting offensive linemen. The Irish are hoping to land at least one more, but possibly two more elite linemen. The staff is likely to go all in on 5-star Foster Sarell and 4-stars Jedrick Wills and Trey Smith from here on out. Wills is probably Notre Dame’s best chance at this point in time, with Sarell and Smith being real possibilities as well.

As for Robert’s impact as a Notre Dame football player, he will almost certainly redshirt as a Freshman. He just won’t see the field at only 275 pounds. Look for him to take some time in the weight room to bulk up and sculpt his body while being coached by Harry Hiestand. Of course it will be difficult to see the field early with the embarrassment of riches on Notre Dame’s OL depth chart, but Robert has all the tools necessary to contribute to one of the country’s best OL units a few years from now.

Welcome to the Irish family, Robert!