Notre Dame Recruiting: Where Things Stand With The 2024 Class - Offense Edition
Notre Dame has already started hosting talented recruits, the month of April is jam packed with elite visitors and prospects are already starting to set up official visits for the month of June.
The Irish sit with a Top 5 class, so the foundation for the 2024 class is already laid. Notre Dame landing a gap closing class will be determined by how the staff finish between now and signing day. So it's time to take a look at where things stand, what needs remain in the 2024 class and what is currently left on the board.
2024 COMMITS
Notre Dame currently has a Top 5 class primarily because of how good its offensive class is at this point. Notre Dame has six commits on the offensive side of the ball.
The two best prospects in the class are elite quarterback CJ Carr and big time wide receiver Cam Williams, who both committed to Notre Dame last June. Both earned Top 50 national prospect grades on the Irish Breakdown board, and the duo gives the Irish the kind of elite skill talent it needs to close the gap on the programs competing for and winning championships.
Notre Dame also has a talented all-around running back in Aneyas Williams, a strong pass catching tight end in Jack Larsen, and two quality offensive linemen in Peter Jones and Anthonie Knapp. That means Notre Dame has already landed at least one commitment at each offensive position. It's an already balanced and talented offensive haul.
REMAINING NEEDS
Looking at the overall class numbers this early can be challenging. Right now, sources indicate that Notre Dame will be around 22 players in this class, but roster changes and board changes could alter that and get the Irish up to 24-25 players. The reality is even if Notre Dame gets to its target number, there are players on the board they will still take if they decide they want to come.
Let's look at the remaining needs in order of priority:
Offensive Tackle - Notre Dame will likely land 3-4 offensive linemen in this class. There's a scenario where the staff could stop at three linemen in the class due to how many young blockers are already on the roster and the fact it's not a great year nationally at offensive line. The other reality is that the makeup of the current line class and the current Notre Dame offensive line is that the remaining pickups in this offensive line class must be offensive tackles. Jones and Knapp could end up at tackle, but neither is a sure things. Notre Dame needs one more pure tackle, but I would make a case for landing two more tackles in this class, and at least one must be capable of thriving at left tackle. The exception would be if the staff has confidence that Knapp can stick at tackle.
Remaining Need: 1-2
Wide Receiver - Notre Dame landed a talented four-man class in 2023, but the 2022 class had just one signee (albeit a very good one), and by the time this class shows up to campus the 2021 class will be seniors. Notre Dame must start stacking top receiver classes on top of each other, which means closing the gap means the 2024 receiver haul must also be strong. Williams is a great start, but Notre Dame wants at least two more wideouts in the class. Landing skillsets that are different from Williams is ideal, must like the staff did a season ago. Two is the ideal number, but if the right players want to jump on board I could see the staff taking a third down the road.
Remaining Need: 2-3
Running Back - Notre Dame doesn't necessarily "need' a second back in the class, but it wants a second back, assuming it's a good enough player. Williams is a strong all-around player, and right now the staff is focusing on backs who are more pure runners, which would be a great complement to Williams and 2023 signee Jeremiyah Love. If they aren't able to land a back that is a top level player the staff is just fine signing only Williams, but if the right player comes along they could take a second.
Remaining Need: 0-1
Tight End - This is the same position as running back in that Notre Dame doesn't "need" a second tight end. If Larsen is the only signee in the class the Irish will once again have a strong player at the position, but there's a case to be made that a second tight end would be ideal, assuming it's a top player. With numbers being tight, and needs being greater at other positions, the staff will have some tough decisions to make at running back and tight end.
Remaining Need: 0-1
POSITION OVERVIEWS
Here is a look at where the board currently stands. Obviously things can and will change as the spring and summer draws out, and some new prospects potentially emerge (and others choose other schools), but this is a snap shot of where things stand right now.
WIDE RECEIVER - With room for at least two more, Notre Dame will need to keep its board big enough to finish strong. The board isn't huge right now, but it's certainly manageable. The key now will be finishing.
Notre Dame will host Long Beach (Calif.) Poly wide receiver Jason Robinson Jr. this weekend and Warner Robins (Ga.) High School athlete Isiah Canion the following week. These are two top targets for Notre Dame, but the Irish must have great visits with both if they are going to close out their recruitments. Robinson is small (5-10, 160), but he's a dynamic route runner with excellent pass catching skills. Robinson is one of the most polished wideouts in the class. Canion plays quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back. He has big time size (6-3, 195) and was laser timed at 4.51 this spring, which is absolutely moving at that size. He's raw, but the tools are there.
Notre Dame is also working to get Charlotte (N.C.) Christian wideout Micah Gilbert on campus this spring and to get Hicksville (N.Y.) Holy Trinity speedster Josiah Brown back on campus. Gilbert has impressive size, power and ball skills, while Brown has home run speed. Notre Dame has ground to make up with both players but they are in the game. Gilbert just released a list of seven final schools, and the Irish made the list.
Notre Dame is a player for Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day wideout Bredell Richardson, but they'll need to do a lot of work to get in position to actually land him. Richardson plays much bigger than his current size (6-1, 190) and his ball skills are elite, so he's worth continuing to push for. Notre Dame has also tried to get in the mix with Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic wideout Emmett Mosley, but he just hasn't shown the kind of interest you'd expect from a legacy recruit.
The Irish were once in very good position with a pair of St. Louis standouts - Ryan Wingo and Jeremiah McClellan - but right now they are on the outside looking in with both, for different reasons.
OFFENSIVE LINE - There is no question who the top player is on the board, and that would be West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial offensive tackle Guerby Lambert. The 6-7, 285-pound tackle has elite tools but still has plenty of room to fill out and add to his repertoire. A case could be made that Lambert is the most important offensive target left on the board. Notre Dame absolutely needs an elite tackle prospect in this class, and Guerby is one of the best tackle prospects in the class.
Notre Dame recently hosted Royersford (Pa.) Pope John Paul II offensive tackle Kevin Heywood and will be hosting Hamilton (Ind.) Southeastern tackle Styles Prescod this week. Heywood has the higher floor and he's powerful, but I'm very high on Prescod's upside. Some list him as an interior player, but I believe Prescod has the athletic tools to play on the edge with proper coaching. A combination of Lambert and Prescod - for me - would be a great finish to the offensive line class.
Notre Dame recently offered elite Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei offensive tackle Brandon Baker, but the Irish are a long, long way away from being in position to land him. Other names to know are Logan (Iowa) Magnolia standout Grant Brix, Brookline (Mass.) Dexter tackle Liam Andrews and Flanders (N.J.) Mount Olive tackle Aidan Lynch.
I'm a huge fan of Wyomissing (Pa.) Area offensive lineman Caleb Brewer, but for some reason new line coach Joe Rudolph doesn't seem to be as high on Brewer as former position coach Harry Hiestand was.
RUNNING BACK - The board here is small. Notre Dame is currently still recruiting Lufkin (Texas) High School standout Kedren Young, Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day star Anthony Carrie and impressive Chicago (Ill.) Mount Carmel back Darrion Dupree.
Notre Dame will be hosting Young the weekend of June 2-4, Carrie will be on campus for an official a week later, and Dupree will be on campus this week. All three are talented backs but Young and Carrie are higher ranked on the IB Board.
Young has a great combination of size, athleticism, running back skills and power. He's a legit Top 100 talent whose game reminds me of current Notre Dame standout Audric Estime, but Young is more explosive. Carrie is a smooth runner that runs with authority and shows a great feel for the position. Landing either one of these two backs to go with Williams would be an absolute home run for the Irish.
Dupree is an intriguing player. I love his film and he's an incredibly physical back, but his style of play doesn't necessarily fit his size. For me, I want to see his senior film before I made a final assessment of him, but right now - on my board - he is just behind Young and Carrie, but all three earned four-star grades at IB.
TIGHT END - Notre Dame has two outstanding tight ends left on the board. Raymore (Mo.) Peculiar star Jaden Reddell is one of the nation's best players at his position and Ainsworth (Neb.) High School athlete Carter Nelson has as much upside as almost any tight end in the country. This duo is very, very talented and bring big time pass catching skills to the table. Landing either one of these two players would be a coup for the Irish, but right now I'm not sure the odds that Notre Dame will be able to add a second tight end.
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Irish Breakdown Content
2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule
Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense
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