Notre Dame Early Enrollee Impact - Offense Edition

Notre Dame has a deep and talented group of early enrollees that have a chance to impact the program right away

Notre Dame has started the spring semester this week, which means the college careers for the Irish early enrollees has officially begun. Notre Dame welcomes 15 new freshmen to the roster, including nine on the offensive side of the ball.

Notre Dame's 2024 class is loaded, and there is a lot of talent arriving for the new semester. The group gets a head start on preparing for the 2024 season, and there are plenty of newcomers that will have a chance to make an early impact for Notre Dame.

Let's take a look at who arrives and the potential spring impact they could make.

QB CJ CARR

IB Grade: 5.0 (Top 25 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Carr has been committed to Notre Dame for quite some time, and he was a key reason why the Irish signed such a talented 2024 class, especially on offense. Carr is not only a talented thrower and quality athlete, he's an incredibly high IQ football player that should pick up the offense quickly. Of course, getting to Notre Dame in December and being able to get some practice time in before the bowl game gave him an even bigger head start.

2024 Spring Impact: Notre Dame landed former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard to be its starter in 2024, so that takes some of the early pressure off Carr. This spring will be about building up his body, learning the offense and establishing himself in the Notre Dame locker room. For Carr, the 2024 season is more about positioning himself to compete for the starting role in 2025. That is going to be a fascinating battle, and Carr will obviously be right in the middle of it. Arriving early allows him to immediately start showing off his skills, learning the offense and quickly closing the gap on the more experienced quarterbacks.

RB KEDREN YOUNG

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 100 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Notre Dame landed a dynamic 1-2 punch at running back in the 2024 class, and both are early enrollees. Young is a unique player that has an impressive combination of size (5-11, 225) and athleticism. The Texas native has impressive feet for a player his size, he's a natural runner and he certainly has the size/power combination to play make a very early impact with the Irish.

2024 Spring Impact: Young has room to reshape his body and add strength, and I believe there is a good chance that being in a college strength program will result in him getting a jump in speed and explosiveness. That will make him an even more dynamic player. The spring will give him a good chance to absorb the Notre Dame playbook, work on being more efficient with his footwork, and working to enhance his ability in the pass game. Young was rarely used in the pass game at Lufkin, so getting early work in this area could help him be in position to charge up the depth chart in the fall. Young could be very hard to keep off the field early at Notre Dame.

RB ANEYAS WILLIAMS

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Williams was a bit of an overlooked player in the Notre Dame 2024 class. Part of that was how early he committed to the Irish, and he also played at a small school in Missouri. His numbers were incredible, with Williams racking up over 4,000 career rushing yards, 3,000 career receiving yards and over 150 touchdowns. He's a smart player and a very underrated athlete that does damage in a lot of ways.

2024 Spring Impact:Williams is always going to be a bit on the smaller side, much like former Irish back Kyren Williams. Getting an early jump will allow him to continue building up his body and better prepare him for the grind of playing at this level. Williams will also get a chance to make an early impression on the Notre Dame staff. Standing out in the run game might be harder in a running back depth chart that is absolutely loaded. But I could see Williams using his big time pass game skills to make the coaches think long and hard about his role as a rookie, and could make anyone else in competition to be the third-down back feel quite nervous.

WR CAM WILLIAMS

IB Grade: 5.0 (Top 25 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 5.0

Williams was a good prospect when he committed to Notre Dame, but by the time his prep career was over he had emerged as an elite prospect. He finished as a five-star recruit on the Irish Breakdown board, on the 247Sports composite ranking and the On3 consensus ranking. He is a dynamic athlete with home run speed, after-the-catch skills and he's a strong young athlete. Williams ranked as the top recruit in the 2024 class on the Irish Breakdown board.

2024 Spring Impact: Williams suffered a minor injury during the All-American Bowl, but he should be recovered quickly. I have a hard time believing that Williams will not be on the field for the Irish offense in the fall, and arriving early greatly increases the chances he'll have a chance to force his way onto the field. Williams does need work as a route runner, and adding more strength will help him. As he picks up the offense you'll see him making more and more plays, and that's when he'll charge hard up the depth chart. Notre Dame has a very talented wide receiver room, but I don't know that anyone on the roster has Williams' speed, explosiveness and big play ability. If he can pick up the offense he could make an early impact.

WR MICAH GILBERT

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 150 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Gilbert was a quiet member of the 2024 class, at least off the field. On the field he made a lot of noise, putting together a dominant senior season that saw him rack up over 1,000 yards on offense while also making plays on defense. Gilbert is a long, physical athlete that showed a more nuanced game as a senior. His ball skills are top notch, and the biggest jump in his game this past season was his ability to make plays after the catch.

2024 Spring Impact: I'm curious to see where the coaches decide to play Gilbert early on. That's one of my biggest questions heading into spring ball. Gilbert could play all three positions, but I'm curious to see if he can get comfortable playing in the boundary. He's strong enough to play the position, and getting in early will allow him to get a head start on the offense and learning the nuances of the game he needs. With the top two boundary receivers being seniors, I'm curious to see who gets groomed as the next in line, and I think Gilbert has the skillset to be that player.

TE JACK LARSEN

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 250 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.0

Larsen was a very underrated and under-appreciated member of the 2024 class. He's not the biggest tight end, he's not the fastest player, but what he does is catch the ball as well as anyone in the class. Not just Notre Dame, I'm talking nationally. Larsen is a smart player, he's competitive and he's a solid athlete, but his ball skills are truly elite.

2024 Spring Impact: The biggest need for Larsen this winter and spring is getting in the weight room. He was listed at under 220 pounds on signing day, so he'll arrive undersized. With the tight end depth chart dealing with injuries, and currently healthy players having checkered injury backgrounds, Larsen needs to be ready earlier than we might think. He has the game to play early, but he'll need to add weight, strength and continue enhancing his route running.

OL PETER JONES

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 200 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.0

Jones is exactly what you'd expect from a Pennsylvania offensive lineman. He's big, he's physical and he loves to compete. An offensive tackle in high school, Jones will likely move inside at Notre Dame. He has good footwork, he's a solid athlete, has good length and he's quite strong. Whether or not he can work his way onto the field early remains to be seen, but I really like Jones' game and potential to be a multi-year starter inside.

2024 Spring Impact: As stated above, Jones was a tackle in high school, but Notre Dame will need to figure out where to play him early. While he projects inside, he has enough foot quickness and length to play outside, and right now the Irish have some depth issues outside. If he moves inside, Jones will need to make the transition to play guard, which will require he adjust his technique. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing how Jones plays the game after he adds some weight room strength. That will be fun to see when you consider how strong he is already.

OL STYLES PRESCOD

IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 200 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Notre Dame needed tackles in the 2024 class and Prescod was one of my favorite tackles on their board. There were other players with more "ready to play early" skills than Prescod, but not many have higher upside. He's long and a quality athlete, but despite being around 270 pounds he was a punishing run blocker in high school. He'll need a lot of work, but I love Prescod's skill and potential. 

2024 Spring Impact: Prescod is a very raw player from both a physical and technical standpoint. Arriving early will be huge for him because it gives him a much-needed six to seven month head start on the strength program. That will serve him very well. Prescod also needs a lot of technical work in every aspect. He needs to work on pad level, footwork and he needs to use his hands better. The tools are all there, and getting the extra work as an early enrollee will help him start to work on these parts of his game.

OL ANTHONIE KNAPP

IB Grade: 3.5 (Top 300 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Knapp is a very intriguing prospect, and I'm looking forward to getting a first glance look at him. The Georgia native has some very impressive high school film. He's a really good athlete, he has surprisingly good length for a player his size, and he's a very physical high school player. My concern with Knapp is more about his size, and how he projects those skills to the next level. Now we get a chance to see it.

2024 Spring Impact: Knapp is another player that will benefit greatly from getting a head start in the strength program. He needs to add weight to his frame, and one of my big questions is can he add that weight, gain the necessary strength and maintain his athleticism. We'll see a chance to see that a bit this spring. Knapp was a left tackle in high school, but he will likely move inside at Notre Dame. Will he play guard, will he play center? We should get a look at that this spring as well.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2024 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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