Notre Dame Recruiting: Two-Year Grades On Defense

Grading the Notre Dame offensive recruits in the 2021 and 2022 classes

My favorite way to grade Notre Dame's recruiting efforts is to look at back-to-back classes. It gives better context to how a team meets its needs, how classes complement each other and give a better view of just how much talent the program is adding.

Notre Dame's recruiting on defense in a two-year view is really, really good. The 2021 class added some impact players and great numbers in the secondary, while the 2022 class also added impact players but was dominant in the front seven. 

Grades are based on a combination of meeting need, scheme fit and talent of the players. The grades are also based on the evaluation of players in high school, and not what they did during their freshman season at Notre Dame.

Here are the two-year grades for the Notre Dame offense:

DEFENSIVE END

Grade: B
Signees (4): Jason Onye (2021), Will Schweitzer (2021), Tyson Ford (2022), Aiden Gobaira (2022)

There is a lot to like about this group, and the upside of the group is certainly better than the current grade. The 2022 haul received an A grade for the end position, but the 2021 group is very much a low floor/high ceiling duo.

One thing this group adds to the roster, which was very much needed, is exceptional length. Schweitzer, at 6-4, is the "shortest" of the ends. Onye, Ford and Gobaira have exceptional length and Schweitzer is no slouch. 

What Schweitzer adds is a player with impressive quickness and pass rushing potential. Onye is a powerful player that could eventually grow into an interior player, and he's so raw that he could end up never playing. If he reaches his potential, however, he could be outstanding.

Notre Dame restocked its end depth chart, and if position coach Mike Elston develops this group the way he has previous groups the B grade will end up looking too low. There's certainly a great deal of potential with this group. The key to this group becoming more of an A group in college will be its ability to develop a pass rushing threat.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Grade: B-
Signees (2): Gabriel Rubio (2021), Donovan Hinish (2022)

This grade gets dinged because of the numbers. In two years Notre Dame has signed just six defensive linemen, which is a player or two too few, and the lack of interior players is problematic. Moving forward there's a chance one of the ends (Onye or Ford) could end up inside, but right now there are only two signees from the last two years slated to play inside. 

Rubio was one of the best signees of the 2021 class, so he adds impressive size and potential inside. He was a Top 100 recruit that put up huge numbers as a prep player. Hinish is the polar opposite in that he lacks the size and rankings profile that Rubio brings, but he's a high motor player that brings good athleticism to the depth chart.

LINEBACKER

Grade: A
Signees (6): Kahanu Kia (2021), Prince Kollie (2021), Josh Burnham (2022), Jaylen Sneed (2022), Niuafe Tuihalamaka (2022), Nolan Ziegler (2022)

About a year ago, Notre Dame was in a problematic position when you looked at the future of the linebacker position. Two underwhelming classes put Notre Dame in position where it needed an upgrade in numbers and talent.

Mission accomplished.

It started with last year's two-man class that was fueled by Prince Kollie, an athletic player that was a Top 100 recruit. Kollie has the athletic profile that new head coach Marcus Freeman covets and he wasn't even a Freeman recruit. Kia is a smart, heady player whose future at Notre Dame was a question mark at this time a year ago, but he appears locked into staying at Notre Dame and not taking a mission until after college.

The 2022 class added four legitimate Top 200 caliber linebackers to the depth chart, which from a pure numbers standpoint combines with the two-man group of 2021 to replenish the depth chart. Even more important, this two-year haul gives the linebacker depth chart a significant upgrade in athleticism, speed, length and raw talent.

We need to see this group developed, but if they turn out to be as good in college as they were in high school this group will be incredibly special.

CORNERBACK

Grade: A-
Signees (6): Ryan Barnes (2021), JoJo Johnson (2021), Phillip Riley (2021), Chance Tucker (2021), Jaden Mickey (2022), Benjamin Morrison (2022)

Notre Dame wanted and needed a complete overhaul at cornerback. The staff wanted and needed more length, it needed more speed and it needed more playmakers, and of course, it needed more talent. These two groups - which account for six players - meets all of those needs to some degree.

A concern is that there is a lot of high-ceiling but lower floor prospects, so there is some risk with this group. Position coach Mike Mickens will have to do a great job of developing these players in order to get the most out of their potential, but the raw tools are there and Mickens did a great job beating programs like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Washington to bring in this class.

Barnes and Morrison bring great length and both have incredibly high ceilings. Riley and Mickey are very competitive players that both project as potential starters/impact players at the slot or to the field. Johnson is an excellent athlete and Tucker made a ton of plays in high school and he can run.

Morrison, Barnes and one of Mickey or Riley have to pan out for this group to reach its full potential, but this group has a chance to change the narrative that currently exists about the cornerback position at Notre Dame.

SAFETY

Grade: C+
Signees (3): Khari Gee (2021), Justin Walters (2021), Jayden Bellamy (2022)

Notre Dame failed to land the impact talent or the numbers it needed at safety, which hurts the grade. Notre Dame needed at least one more safety, even with the position changes that have aided the unit in recent months. What it did land is three quality football players. 

Gee is a long, athletic, high-upside safety that might need some time to develop, but his ceiling and length was needed in the depth chart. Walters lacks the high ceiling or size that Gee brings, but he's a thumper, he can run and he has a knack for making plays.

Bellamy is a versatility player that can run and he's a quality tackler.

This is a solid group of players, no doubt about it, but in its quest to win a title this is the one position group Notre Dame absolutely must do a better job of landing the necessary talent and numbers.

GRADE KEY

A — Elite / College Football Playoff caliber
B — Outstanding / Top 15 caliber
C — Solid / Borderline Top 25 caliber
D — Subpar / Not good enough
F — Disaster

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Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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