Grading The Notre Dame 2021 Recruiting Class: Defense

Grading the 2021 Notre Dame defensive recruiting class, position by position

Notre Dame has wrapped up its 2021 recruiting class, and its one of the deepest and most balanced of the Brian Kelly era.

While the offensive class is loaded with highly ranked players, the defensive class is more about projection. There's a lot of low-floor/high-ceiling players in the class, which is exactly the kind of prospect Notre Dame has thrived with in recent seasons.

If the staff is correct in its evaluations of this class this group will far surpass its recruiting rankings. This also a class loaded with long, athletic players on all three levels of the defense.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Grade: B-
Signees: Jason Onye, Will Schweitzer, Devin Aupiu, Gabriel Rubio (DT)

Notre Dame continued its recent trend of landing long, rangy and high-ceiling defensive ends that will need some time to develop their game. It has worked out pretty well so far, and the upside of the current group is outstanding, but there is a lot of projection with the group as well.

The grade reflects the fact this is a low-floor/high-ceiling situation, and the fact that outside of Rubio, most of the players in this class will need time to develop before they can help. That drags the grade down, but the upside of this group is impressive and it’s a class Irish fans should be excited to watch develop.

North Providence (R.I.) Bishop Hendricken defensive end Jason Onye is a highly intriguing player. Onye has played football for just two years, and he didn’t get to play as a senior due to his state canceling the 2020 season. He is incredibly raw from a technique standpoint due to that lack of experience, but he has a tremendous frame, powerful hands and the potential to be a top-notch power end in the Irish defense in time. In the Marcus Freeman defense he also projects to be the kind of end that can also slide inside and be disruptive.

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Notre Dame flipped Los Gatos (Calif.) High School edge player Will Schweitzer from Nebraska, and I love his upside. He’s got an impressive burst off the edge, he has experience in coverage and his overall skillset fits the weakside position quite well. The issue, however, is he is barely over 200 pounds right now and will need time to add necessary size/strength. 

There is always the concern about a player like Schweitzer in regards to whether or not he can maintain his athleticism and explosiveness with added size. If he can fill out his frame and maintain his athleticism he could end up being a steal.

The same is true of Oxnard (Calif.) Pacifica end Devin Aupiu, who the Irish flipped from UCLA. Aupiu will need time to fill out, but his frame is even better than Schweitzer’s, which gives him more line versatility. He’s long, athletic and the frame he has is such that there’s a chance he could add enough size and strength to play either end spot in the Irish defense.

There are no such concerns with St. Louis (Mo.) Lutheran defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio. The Top 100 defensive tackle has the size/strength combination to play early, and his overall technique is college ready. He’s one of the top signees in the class, and Notre Dame really only needed one interior player in the class, and Rubio filled that need nicely.

LINEBACKER

Grade: B-
Signees: Prince Kollie, Kahanu Kia

The failure to land a single linebacker in the 2020 class and recent losses from the current roster meant that Notre Dame needed at least two linebackers in this class. Notre Dame technically landed two linebackers, but there's still a chance that Honolulu (Haw.) Punahou linebacker Kahanu Kia will go on a Mormon mission, which means technically he’s more like a 2023 signee. Kia is also a player that needs time to develop.

That's why the grade isn't higher, but the great news is that Notre Dame's best defensive signee is also at the position. That would be Jonesborough (Tenn.) David Crockett star Prince Kollie. I liked Kollie when he committed, but he got even better as a senior. Landing him gives the Irish a legit Top 100 talent at the position, which boosts the grade.

Kia is a smart, instinctive player that brings toughness to the position. He isn’t the athlete Notre Dame is used to signing at the position, he doesn’t have great size and as I mentioned, he plans on going on a Mormon mission. He’s a quality player, but for a program like Notre Dame it can, and should, be able to get higher-level players at linebacker. I actually like Kia more in the Freeman defense, which can thrive with a Mike linebacker that is more of a physical box player.

CORNERBACK

Grade: A-
Signees: Ryan Barnes, Philip Riley, JoJo Johnson, Chance Tucker

Notre Dame's cornerback class is outstanding. Is it an A- grade based on national recruiting rankings? Absolutely not, but anyone that knows me knows I don't really care about that, I care about what I see on film, I care about how a group fits together and I care about versatility. Make no mistake, this is a very, very talented group of cornerbacks. 

The one recruiting service that doesn't do star rankings, SI All-American, ranked the secondary class as the nation's third best, and that was before it landed Gee or Johnson.

Gaithersburg (Md.) Quince Orchard cornerback Ryan Barnes was graded as a three-star recruit by the services, but I graded him as a four-star, a Top 100 caliber player and the third best defensive signee in the class. Barnes has the size, athleticism and instincts to thrive in the Notre Dame defense, and there’s a reason programs like Notre Dame, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Florida, and Oklahoma offered him.

Getting Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale cornerback Philip Riley back in the class was important for Notre Dame, and it boosted the cornerback grade. Riley is a physically advanced and tough cornerback that also has the skills to move to and become a multi-year starter at safety. I am really curious to see what position Riley settles into at Notre Dame, and there is now a third option with Freeman running the show, and that is as a slot defender.

Merrillville (Ind.) High School athlete JoJo Johnson and Encino (Calif) Crespi cornerback Chance Tucker are quality players. Johnson is athletic, versatile and has the tools to eventually develop into a quality player in the secondary. Tucker lacks the length, size or speed of other players in the class, but he’s extremely intelligent and has the traits needed to outplay his ranking. There are past years when either one of these two signees would have been one of the two best corner signees in the class, which speaks volumes about the depth of this haul.

SAFETIES

Grade: B-
Signees: Khari Gee, Justin Walters

A case could be made that Notre Dame needed three safeties in the class, and that became even more true when Freeman was hired. His defense is built around a three-safety alignment, something that Notre Dame might have a hard time doing early in his tenure.

Notre Dame completely whiffed at the position in 2020, which put even more pressure on the 2021 class. The Irish landed just two safeties, but the good news is the two safeties are high quality football players. The talent grade is a solid B, and a case could be made that from an upside standpoint it is a B+. This overall grade is a B- due mainly to a numbers situation that still exists at safety.

Landing Georgia safety Khari Gee gives Notre Dame a long, rangy, athletic and talented safety that was a strong fit in Clark Lea's defense, but he's an even better fit in the Freeman defense. He can play off the ball, using his range to run the alleys and play over the top. His size and tackling potential could also lend to him being the hybrid nickel safety that Freeman utilizes.

Bolingbrook (Ill.) High School safety Justin Walters has been a bit overlooked due to his early commitment and the fact his senior season was canceled. Walters missed out on a chance to rise up the rankings. He's a consensus three-star recruit, but don't let that fool you, Walters is a talented player that has a chance to be a really good football player in a Notre Dame uniform.

Landing both Walters and Gee also means that Notre Dame doesn't have to move one of its corners to safety, which would have been a must without two safeties. Could one of those corner commits end up at safety? Sure, but now that move would be based on that player fitting better at safety and not be a situation where he was moving to fill a roster need.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Grade: B+
Signees: PK Joshua Bryan

Landing Bryan gives the Irish one of the best place-kickers in the class. On top of that, Notre Dame added a player in receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. that could develop into a strong punt returner for the Irish. The secondary haul and the two linebackers give the coverage units a huge boost. I don’t love Kia as a linebacker, but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t develop into a multi-year starter on special teams.

GRADE KEY

A — Elite / College Football Playoff caliber
B — Outstanding / Top 15 caliber
C — Solid / Borderline Top 25 caliber
D — Subpar / Not good enough
F — Disaster

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