Two-Year Recruiting Grades For The Notre Dame Offense

Grading the success of the Notre Dame offensive recruiting over the last two classes

My favorite way to evaluate recruiting is to add more context to a class, and the best way to do that is with a two-year look. With the Notre Dame class close to done it’s a good chance to look at the 2020 and 2021 classes together.

Grades are a combination of landing top-end talent, depth, meeting needs and scheme fit. The grades and analysis are based on what each recruit was when he signed, and what they’ve done at Notre Dame in 2020 has no bearing.

Let’s kick this analysis off by looking at the Irish offense recruiting the last two cycles.

QUARTERBACK

Grade: A
Signees: Tyler Buchner (2021), Drew Pyne (2020)

Notre Dame landed two starting caliber quarterbacks in each of the last two years. Buchner is a legit Top 50 caliber recruit that possesses five-star upside. If he puts it all together he has the arm talent + athleticism to be a difference maker in college.

Pyne gets far less fanfare, and based on my Twitter feed it seems he’s already been supplanted by Buchner. Anyone that knows Pyne, however, knows he’s not going to go down without a fight. If Buchner beats him out it means Buchner is really, really good, because Pyne is a good football player.

RUNNING BACK

Grade: B+ (A- if Logan Diggs signs)
Signees: Chris Tyree (2020), Audric Estime (2021)

A case could be made that this haul should be an A- even without Diggs, but the fact is if Diggs ends up in the 2021 class there is no doubt the two-year running back haul is at least an A-.

Tyree was a star recruit, ranking as a Top 50 player on my board. He was the fastest player in the 2020 class, and the former Thomas Dale star was arguably the most explosive player in the 2020 class.

Estime is a great complement to Tyree. While I believe Tyree has the leg strength and running style to be an every down back, he is on the smaller side, and landing a player like Estime gives the Irish a chance to use his size and power to hammer defenses, and then Notre Dame can use Tyree’s speed and pass catching prowess to hit home runs.

If Diggs gets added to this class the running back depth chart will be completely restocked.

WIDE RECEIVER

Grade: A
Signees: Jordan Johnson (2020), Lorenzo Styles Jr. (2021), Xavier Watts (2020), Deion Colzie (2021), Jay Brunelle (2020), Jayden Thomas (2021)

Notre Dame has added everything you want at wide receiver in the last two classes. You have size, you have talented outside players, you have after-the-catch weapons, you have dangerous slot players and you have great depth.

During the Brian Kelly era, this two-year haul can only be challenged by the 2015-16 stretch that saw Notre Dame add Miles Boykin, Equanimeous St. Brown, Jalen Guyton, CJ Sanders, Chase Claypool, Javon McKinley and Kevin Stepherson.

Johnson was a legit Top 50 recruit, and I graded Styles, Watts and Colzie all out as Top 100 caliber recruits. I also graded out Brunelle and Thomas as four-star players.

The depth is impressive, the diversity of skillset is outstanding, the top end talent is legit and there was a lot of prep productions from this group. My only question about this group is that Notre Dame has not often showed it can utilize players that have the skillset that made Watts and Styles such important recruits. Developing those two players will determine if this haul plays to its potential, or if it underachieves.

TIGHT END

Grade: A
Signees: Michael Mayer (2020), Cane Berrong (2021), Kevin Bauman (2020), Mitchell Evans (2020)

It’s hard to imagine Notre Dame doing much better over the course of two seasons than it has at tight end the last two classes. Notre Dame added elite talent, depth, size and versatile skillsets. There are some similarities between Berrong and Bauman, but Mayer is a unique talent and Evans brings big-time size.

Mayer was arguably the nation’s top tight end in the 2020 class, and he backed that up during his freshman season. His combination of size and athleticism was outstanding, and he put that on display during The Opening finals when he won the offensive MVP during the 7-on-7 portion, during the All-American Bowl and while leading his team to a 29-1 record in his final two seasons.

Berrong is ranked as a Top 50 recruit by SI All-American and ESPN, and Bauman was the No. 246 player in the country on the 247Sports composite rankings.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Grade: B+
Signees: Blake Fisher (2021), Tosh Baker (2020), Rocco Spindler (2021), Michael Carmody (2020), Caleb Johnson (2021), Joe Alt (2021), Patrick Coogan (2021)

This was a strong two-year haul for Notre Dame, and a case could be made my grade is too low, but the reason is two-fold. Number one, the Irish came up one or two players short from a pure numbers standpoint. When you consider only two members of the 2018 class remain on the roster, a member of the 2019 class has already transferred and another has suffered a major knee injury, Notre Dame needed at least eight blockers in the last two classes.

Number two, there is a drop-off between the top four players and the rest of the class.

If Notre Dame has Baker and Fisher starting at tackle in the next few years, and they are as good in college as they were as prospects the Irish will once again have the nation’s best bookends on the outside of their line. If Spindler reaches his potential and is starting inside you have the makings of an outstanding offensive line, and Carmody brings some upside as well.

After that, however, there’s a lot of question marks. Johnson has a chance to be a good player in time, and I love Alt’s upside, but both players are low-floor/high-ceiling players. Coogan is more of a depth player, but his toughness and size could result in him eventually sliding into the center role.

You can absolutely win with this kind of offensive line recruiting, which is why it’s a B+/A- type of class, but missing out on a third stud in both the 2020 and 2021 classes keeps this from being an elite two-year haul. If Notre Dame can have a 2022 class that looks like the 2019 or 2021 classes, however, the Irish will be back on track.

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