Notre Dame 2023 Hot Board: Running Back

The latest on Notre Dame running back recruiting for the 2023 class

Notre Dame currently has just four running backs on scholarship, and when the 2023 class arrives on campus Chris Tyree will be a senior and both Logan Diggs and Audric Estime will be juniors. Of course, this assumes that Tyree doesn't have a monster 2022 campaign that opens up the door for him to leave for the NFL.

Even if Tyree returns, an injury to a back on the roster or a departure via transfer leaves Notre Dame thin at the position moving forward. That is why the Notre Dame staff entered this cycle focused on taking two backs.

The Irish found success early by landing Miami rusher Sedrick Irvin Jr., who committed to Notre Dame back in September.

With Irvin in the class the staff has not stopped pushing for other talented players at the position. Below is the latest with all the running backs currently on the board for Notre Dame.

(Note: See below for explanation on Hot, Warm, Cool)

Irvin has remained solid to Notre Dame ever since he pledged to the staff. Even in the midst of a coaching change that saw Lance Taylor depart and Deland McCullough arrive, Irvin has remained solid to Notre Dame. He has recruited other players to the class and he's one of several commits that has not taken any visits to other programs.

Irvin is set to return to campus on April 23 for the Blue-Gold Game.

Notre Dame has been on Limar for some time, and he actually visited campus this past October when the Irish took on USC. He was building a good bond with Taylor before he departed, but since McCullough arrived it seemed Notre Dame's interest in him got even stronger. Things have really heated up since the coaching change and it's obvious that Notre Dame's new running backs coach is very high on Limar's versatile game.

McCullough and the rest of the staff have worked hard to rise up Limar's list and have put themselves in a very strong position. He'll be making a return trip to South Bend for the Blue-Gold Game. 

In late March, Limar released a Top 9 that included the Irish along with Michigan, Miami (Fla.), Oregon, Texas A&M, UCLA, Louisville, Arizona and Washington State. If Notre Dame can keep doing what it's been doing with Limar the Irish could be tough to beat if things go well during his Blue-Gold Game visit. 

Love got on the board late, earning an offer from Notre Dame on the last day of February. Notre Dame got him on campus less than three weeks later and there is clearly some interest in Love. For his part, Love raved about his visit to South Bend following that visit.

Where this gets interesting is whether or not Notre Dame views Love as a pure running back, or as an athlete that could play running back, wide receiver or perhaps defense, a position he played earlier in his career. 

Right now it appears Notre Dame favors Limar over Love as a pure running back. If I had a say in this discussion I would push to still go after Love as an athlete, much like the staff views Ronan Hanafin. Love is just too explosive to pass over in my view, but we'll find out over the next couple of months just where things stand in this recruitment. One thing is for sure, if Notre Dame makes a push for Love they would have a very good chance of adding him to the class.

Notre Dame made a run at Haynes and even got him on campus this past summer. Haynes has expressed a fondness for Notre Dame but has never really been able to get the kind of traction needed to be a legitimate contender to land him. This one isn't going to happen.

HOT BOARD KEY

Hot means things are really, really going well on both sides of the recruitment.

Warm means there is legit interest from both but not in the committing discussion yet.

Cool means one or both sides aren't high on the other or the prospect is a long way away from making a decision.

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