Landing Jason Moore Would Take Notre Dame's DL Class To A Special Level
Notre Dame is in the midst of a massive recruiting weekend, with a number of top committed and uncommitted players making their official visits to campus. Notre Dame is in pursuit of a No. 1 ranked overall class, and this weekend is a key part of that.
Notre Dame is also looking to land a truly special defensive line class, and the key to that happening is also on campus. That player is Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic defensive lineman Jason Moore.
Notre Dame has already put together an embarrassment of riches on the defensive line for the 2023 cycle, landing Keon Keeley, Brenan Vernon, Boubacar Traore, and Devan Houstan. That class alone could potentially stake a claim as the top defensive line haul in the 2023 class. To make it go from arguably the top defensive line class to the hands down best group, and to make it a generational type of defensive line class there is one more prospect to land.
With Moore in the class, the defensive line haul has a chance to meet that objective.
WHAT THEY ALREADY HAVE
One could make a legitimate argument that Keon Keeley could be the top player in the nation regardless of position. The 6-6, 220-pound pass rusher has as much upside as any defensive end who has come out in recent memory. His combination of length, explosiveness, and upside is truly eye-popping. Keeley has the upside to be the best defensive end to come through Notre Dame in a very long time.
Mentor (Ohio) High School defensive end Brenan Vernon was a huge victory out of the Buckeye state early on in the process. For some undisclosed reason, Vernon has suffered a rankings drop this off-season despite playing in no football games. The 6-5 defensive end has made some gains this off-season, rumored to be near the 275-280 pound range now. His combination of power, explosiveness and alignment versatility makes for a potential move piece on the defensive front for the Irish.
Notre Dame was able to close on West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial standout Boubacar Traore, a former Boston College commit that is another high upside defensive lineman in the class. At 6-4 and 255 pounds, Traore is currently a defensive end for his high school but Notre Dame views him as an interior player long-term. He has an incredible blend of length and power, which should translate well inside as a three technique.
The least heralded of the group, Devan Houstan is still considered a top 200 caliber recruit by both 247Sports (No. 180) and ESPN (No. 182). The 6-5, 275-pound defender is viewed ideally as a nose long term but also could provide some alignment versatility for a team who wants to run both even and odd fronts ideally. Houstan boasts some incredible raw power, converting speed to power at a high level. In a gap penetration style defense, the Maryland product brings a ton of upside as an interior player.
WHAT MOORE BRINGS TO THE TABLE
At 6-6 and 265 pounds, Moore’s profile is bordering on elite. He is a consensus top 100 recruit, who sits as the No. 41 overall player and No. 3 defensive lineman in the 2023 recruiting class according to ESPN. Rivals also considers him the top defensive lineman in the cycle. With an impressive blend of size, length, and athleticism, Moore has the profile to either work as the big end or three technique in their defensive system.
It doesn’t matter what Moore’s long-term position is. With good coaching, the upside is truly unlimited. He has early-round potential down the line with a ceiling that can’t be seen. Outside of Keeley, it isn’t a stretch to say that Moore may have the highest upside of any of the defensive linemen on the board for Notre Dame. This isn’t the “cherry on top” for the Irish, this is a whole other scoop of ice cream added on.
BEST CLASS SINCE?
As far as recruiting is concerned, this class would not have many legitimate rivals in recent memory. The main competition will be the 2011 recruiting cycle that included five stars Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt and Ishaq Williams. While their Notre Dame careers did not shake out the way fans hoped outside of Tuitt, that is about as impressive of a three-man haul as you will find historically up front.
Even with Keeley and Moore in the class, the 2023 class doesn't quite have as many truly elite players as the 2011 unit. When you take the whole group as a whole, however, that’s where it gets interesting. While defensive end recruiting was absurd in 2011, defensive tackle left a lot to be desired, with Tony Springmann being the only true interior in the class and rated just as a three-star recruit.
Should Notre Dame land Moore, the Irish would have landed five defensive linemen who are ranked within the top 200 recruits nationally by at least two different services. That makes Moore the key here. It’s a potentially elite group without him. With him, it’s historic.
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