Recruiting Comparison: Notre Dame vs Wake Forest
The star debate is always a fascinating one when talking about recruiting. Of course acquiring talent is important. There is no debate about that but just how much does it really matter? You can argue to what degree but there is no questioning that it can be a huge indicator of program success.
Notre Dame is set to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons this Saturday, which from a talent perspective, feature two teams on two completely different planes of existence. When you take a look at past recruiting rankings, that difference in talent is even more apparent. This is a case where that disparity does show up big time.
Let's take a look at how Notre Dame stacks up against the Demon Deacons from a recruiting standpoint. All rankings are 247Sports composite rankings.
Notre Dame Offense vs Wake Forest Defense
The Notre Dame offense has been struggling in recent weeks, really needed to find their groove and identify going down the stretch of the season. They are led by a talented offensive line, which is littered by composite four-star players outside of Pat Coogan. Even first time starter Billy Schrauth, who is replacing Rocco Spindler, was a four-star, Top 150 composite recruiting as part of the 2022 class. The highest ranked player up front is Blake Fisher, who was ranked as the No. 55 overall player in his class.
Every running back, wide receiver and tight end in the rotation for Notre Dame was a former four-star recruit. The only skill position player who wasn’t is former Wake Forest quarterback transfer Sam Hartman. The highest ranked playmaker is wide receiver Chris Tyree, who was ranked as the No. 70 overall player as a running back coming out of high school.
There is not a single four-star recruit on the Wake Forest defense. Despite that, they have developed their talent admirably. That includes star cornerback Caelen Carson, who was barely inside the top 2,000 players coming out of high school. He has obviously outplayed that three-star status.
Up front, the Wake Forest defensive line is built off of underrated recruits as well. Their biggest star is defensive end Jasheen Davis, who was ranked as the No. 479 overall player in his class. Despite him not being considered a four-star in the composite, 247Sports actually did have him pegged as a four-star on their ranking.
Notre Dame Defense vs Wake Forest Offense
Offensively, Wake Forest is built off of a scheme to maximize and get their weapons in advantageous matchups. From a recruiting ranking perspective, they are built off of mostly former three-star recruits and push for substantial development.
The Demon Deacons leading rusher, Demon Claiborne, is one of two former four-star recruits on the Wake Forest offense. He is joined by wide receiver Wesley Grimes as the highest ranked former recruits, ranking as the No. 329 and No. 326 overall players in their respective classes.
Up front, it is more of the same for Wake Forest. They have just two offensive lineman as top 1,000 overall players in their recruiting classes. The highest is center Luke Petitbon, who was ranked as the No. 749 overall player in his class.
For Notre Dame, they have a clear advantage in the trenches. They have eight defensive lineman in the rotation who ranked as four-star players. All of Joshua Burnham (No. 109), Gabriel Rubio (No. 117) and Jordan Botelho (No. 120) ranked inside the Top 120 players in their class.
The highest ranked player on the Notre Dame defense is backup linebacker Jaylen Sneed, who is the lone composite five-star player, ranked as the No. 34 overall player in his class. He is one of 13 total players who were ranked as at least four-star players on the composite ranking.
CLASS RANKINGS
Here are the class rankings of the two programs from the last five seasons. (247 Composite Ranking)
NOTRE DAME
2023 - 12
2022 - 7
2021 - 9
2020 - 18
2019 - 14
WAKE FOREST
2023 - 54
2022 - 71
2021 - 66
2020 - 59
2019 - 58
Advantage: Notre Dame
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Irish Breakdown Content
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Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense
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