If you haven’t already seen it, last week I reviewed my way-too-early guess at Notre Dame’s recruiting class of 2020. I promised another way-too-early guess for 2021 was on the way — and here it is. As with the 2019 cycle, the class of 2020 was all wrapped up in mid-December, giving the Notre Dame coaching staff the opportunity to get to work harder on the class of 2021. So far it’s worked out pretty well, as the Fighting Irish have started 2021 off with a bang. They currently sit with eight commits and the #4 recruiting class in the country per the 247Sports Composite, including an average commit grade of .9451.

Considering the smaller-than-expected haul in 2020, the Irish should have a little more wiggle room with regards to numbers this cycle. I could see a class size of anywhere from 21-24. Of course this will depend heavily on who the staff expects to transfer, who the staff does not expect to bring back for a fifth year, etc.

And without any further ado, let’s check out this best guess…

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Tyler Buchner — CA — 6’2″/200 — .9833

  • Elite athlete, elite arm, elite first name. Arguably the best quarterback in the country. Would probably be rated even higher if not for an injury that caused him to miss almost all of his sophomore season. Put up video game numbers as a junior. Not much more needs to be said. Continues the Koreanaissance Notre Dame has been building these past few years.

Other names to watch: None

Running Back

Will Shipley — NC — 6’0″/200 — .9874

  • The absolute top target on Notre Dame’s board right now. Clemson is coming after him hard, but Lance Taylor and BK have been hitting all the right notes with him. He’s got an unofficial visit set for March, with an OV still in the cards as well. Very close with Notre Dame’s current group of commits. Not as fast as Chris Tyree, but who is? Still possesses elite speed and he’s more well-rounded than Tyree.

Prophet Brown — CA — 5’11″/180 — .8928

  • This is admittedly a big projection. Brown hasn’t visited Notre Dame yet but he has a ton of early interest. Very fitting name for a Notre Dame student athlete. The Irish are definitely looking for two running backs this cycle. Brown seems like as good a guess as any.

Other names to watch: Treveyon Henderson (.9888), Donovan Edwards (.9809), Corey Kiner (.9336)

Wide Receiver

Deion Colzie — GA — 6’4″/195 — .9771

  • Huge pick-up for Notre Dame out of Georgia’s back yard. Possibly the next big Notre Dame receiver to turn heads heads at the NFL combine. Already tests well with a 4.56 40/4.25 shuttle/36-inch vertical. Just imagine what a red-zone threat he’ll be after Balis gets his hands on him.

Andrel Anthony — MI — 6’2″/170 — .8739

  • A bit of an underrated prospect at this point out of Michigan State’s back yard in Lansing. Lean, lanky prospect with great length. Has visited Notre Dame in the past and came away very impressed. Likely not a top-of-the-board target right now, but would be a pretty dang good pickup if the Irish aren’t able to make moves on some of the elite targets left on the board.

Other names to watch: Donte Thornton (.9765), Troy Stellato (.9387), Jayden Thomas (.9279)

Tight End

Cane Berrong — GA — 6’4″/225 — .9336

  • The Irish are off to a great start at tight end with one of the top prospects in the country already in the fold. He’s got a visit coming up in March, during which he should have plenty of time to get acquainted with the new tight ends coach John McNulty. The Irish might try to land one more tight end this cycle, but they’ll be extremely picky if so.

Other names to watch: Thomas Fidone (.9583)

Offensive Line

Offensive line was a little hard to project this year. The Irish are in the Top 2 or 3 with a ton of elite OL prospects, and many of them are set to visit South Bend in late March. I suppose it would be too much to ask for Notre Dame to land four top 100 OL in one cycle, but they should be able to pull off two or three. Another thing to consider is that while the Irish technically have two commits along the offensive line right now, nobody’s really counting Greg Crippen. He’s been taking visits to other schools and has been notably absent from any of the graphics other commits have been posting on twitter.

Blake Fisher — IN — 6’6″/330 — .9741

  • Big-time prospect and elite recruiter. I’m not sure how this nickname came about, but you can call him The Mayor. He’s strong, physical, and moves extremely well for a guy of his size. Could play either guard or tackle. He also apparently has a great personality and is doing a great job of keeping tabs on some of Notre Dame’s top targets.

Garrett Dellinger — MI — 6’6″/280 — .9660

  • Started off as a five-star, top 10 overall prospect but he’s had some injury troubles. For a bit, it seemed like Notre Dame might be unsure if they should take him after two separate shoulder injuries. But it looks like their concerns have been cleared up over the past few weeks and he should continue to be a major target moving forward. Good prospect for the interior OL.

Wyatt Milum — WV — 6’6″/275 — .9640

  • This guy is a tackle all the way, and a dang good one at that. Really good athlete with quick feet and excellent mobility. Sounds like the Irish might have the early lead, but he keeps pretty quiet. Penn State, Alabama, Kentucky, and Virginia Tech will also be heavily involved.

Pat Coogan — IL — 6’5″/275 — .8739

  • Landing the three guys above would give the Notre Dame staff the ability to take a project who has high upside as an offensive tackle. The Irish are currently evaluating Pat Coogan but aren’t likely to make a move until they figure out how things will shake out with the top-of-the-board targets.

Other names to watch: Nolan Rucci (.9905), Landon Tengwall (.9771), Rocco Spindler (.9761), Reuben Fatheree (.9405)

DEFENSE

Defensive End

David Abiara — TX — 6’4″/250 — .8867

  • Almost certainly underrated at this point given his offer list which includes Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, and others. He visited South Bend for the Junior Day event at the beginning of February and nearly committed that same week. He decided to hold off and not rush things, but the Irish are still probably heavy leaders. He’s also locked in an unofficial visit for later in March.

Jason Onye — RI — 6’5″/245 — .8728

  • A raw prospect with a ton of potential. Has only been playing football for two years now. Elite frame and all the physical tools needed to develop into a very good defensive end. Pretty similar prospect to Ade Ogundeji coming out of high school, but Jason is probably a better player than Ade was at this stage.

Other names to watch: Kechaun Bennett (.8960), Cooper Jones (.8839), Will Schweitzer (.8789)

Defensive Tackle

Gabriel Rubio — MO — 6’5″/290 — .9499

  • A fantastic start for Notre Dame along the defensive line. He’s already a big kid, but he’s going to be absolutely massive once he gets to his college playing weight. Has the technique and physical tools that should allow him to see the field early.

Aaron Armitage — NJ — 6’4″/245 — .9219

  • He really wanted a Notre Dame offer, and it looks like the Irish jumped into the lead in this recruitment as soon as that offer came. Currently listed as a strong-side defensive end by the recruiting services, but there’s a good chance he grows into a tackle. He’s visiting South Bend later in March, and he might be on commit watch at that time.

Other names to watch: George Rooks (.9217)

Linebacker

This position group is very difficult to project at this point as the Irish have not sent out a ton of offers at linebacker yet. We really don’t know who any of the realistic tops targets are going to be moving forward.

Benjamin Perry — IL — 6’3/195 — .8678

  • Currently listed as a safety by the recruiting services, but he has the length and frame to play linebacker. Clark Lea is evaluating him as a Rover prospect. He’s already taken a visit to Notre Dame and came away impressed. I think he eventually earns an offer due to his athleticism, and it ends up being one he can’t pass up.

Aidan Hubbard — OH — 6’4″/220 — .8588

  • Another guy that is currently in the evaluation stage with Notre Dame. Ideal size, he plays fast and with a lot of intensity. He’s also visited Notre Dame already, and it sounds like it went really well. I’m not certain that the Irish will end up offering, but I think it’s pretty likely he’d jump on the opportunity.

Other names to watch: Brock Bowers (.9568), Morice Blackwell (.8567), Cole Bishop (.8416)

Cornerback

Daylan Carnell — IN — 6’2″/190 — .8800

  • In-state kid with great size and good athleticism. Goes to the same high school that Asmar Bilal attended. Notre Dame has been in the lead with this recruitment for a long time, but he’s taking things slow. I expect Notre Dame to land him if they continue to push.

Deuce Harmon — TX — 5’9/185 — .9058

  • I’m going out on a limb and trusting the gut (and crystal ball) of my close personal friend, Tom Loy*. Deuce is a top target for the Notre Dame staff and they will be coming after him hard. He has a visit set up for early April, and the Irish will look to make a big move. He doesn’t have ideal height but he is a heck of an athlete, plays big, and would likely be much higher rated if he were a couple inches taller. The biggest competition at this point looks like it will be Texas A&M.

Other names to watch: Ceyair Wright (.9637), Devin Kirkwood (.8667), Devonta Smith (.8739), DJ Harvey (.9021), Jamareeh Jones (.8516), Dyson McCutcheon (.8900)

*I’m not actually friends with Tom Loy. Not that I wouldn’t be friends with him, because he seems like a cool enough guy. It’s just that we haven’t actually met.

Safety

Justin Walters – IL — 6’2″/175 — .8739

  • Good start for the Irish at safety. Walters is the most recent verbal commit for Notre Dame, committing directly after the Junior Day event in the beginning of February. He’s a physical, hard hitting player that will immediately add much-needed depth at strong safety for the Irish.

Jaden Slocum — GA — 6’2″/180 — .8739

  • This one is another projection as he has not visited South Bend just yet, and there will be some stiff competition. He plans on visiting this summer, but it has not been locked in as of this point. His recruitment is still pretty wide open, and he’s a high-academic type kid who sounds like he would fit in well at Notre Dame. Also  definitely underrated at this point. He has an elite offer list including Alabama, Georgia, USC, and Florida.

Other names to watch: JD Coffey (.9273), Derrick Davis (.9780)

ATHLETE

I don’t typically do this, but there are a few guys I think Notre Dame will sign who have some positional flexibility and could end up at a couple of different spots.

Lorenzo Styles — WR/CB — OH — 6’1″/170 — .9516 

  • Big time pickup for the Irish. Styles was picked up right out of Ohio State’s back yard. He has elite potential at both wide receiver and cornerback. I think his position at Notre Dame depends on how things shake out with other receiver and corner prospects.

Titus Mokiao-Atimalala — WR/S — HI — 6’1″/170 — .8900

  • Notre Dame has been doing pretty well for themselves in Hawaii lately. In this case, it helps that TMA is related to a current Notre Dame football player. He is the cousin of Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. The 2019 Hawaii player of the year has a ton of upside at both receiver and safety and, much like Styles, his position at Notre Dame probably depends on how things shake out with other targets.

Donovan McMillon — LB/S — PA — 6’2″/185 — .8466

  • McMillon has absolutely blown up over the past few weeks, adding some big-time offers from schools like Notre Dame, Penn State, and Michigan in recent weeks. Extremely underrated at this point. Notre Dame seems split on whether they like him more at safety or rover. With a player like this, I say take him and figure it out once he gets on campus.

Other names to watch: LB/S Xamarion Gordon (.8909)

OVERVIEW/THOUGHTS

Total Signees: 23

Easiest position to project: I think I’d have to go with defensive end at this point. The Irish appear to be the clear leader for Abiara right now and one visit is likely to put them over the top for Onye. I’d be interested to see if the staff might like to land one more pure pass-rusher in addition to these two, though.

Hardest position to project: Definitely linebacker. Oddly, very few offers have been sent out to linebackers so far. Things have got to start picking up here in the next few weeks, right?

Guy from the “other names to watch” category I’d most like to see in this class: This is a tough one, but I think I’ll have to go with cornerback Ceyair Wright out of California. The Irish have numbers at corner, but nobody with the upside of Wright. Also, just a fun fact, Ceyair will be in the upcoming Space Jam movie playing the part of LeBron James’ son. So that’s pretty cool.

One final thing to consider is the possibility of the Irish going after a specialist this cycle. Doerer is out of eligibility following the 2020 season. The Irish do have 2019 PWO Harrison Leonard on the team right now, and they felt pretty good about him coming out of high school. He could earn a scholarship once Doerer leaves. There have also been reports that Notre Dame might be in the market for a transfer kicker. It will be interesting to see how everything shakes out, but for now I’ve decided not to add a specialist to my best guess.