What's Next: Notre Dame Not Done With Linebackers In The 2023 Class

Notre Dame has two linebacker commits in the 2023 class, but the staff wants to add more

Notre Dame has been on a roll with linebacker recruiting since Marcus Freeman was hired, first as the defensive coordinator and then as the head coach. Notre Dame picked up four-star linebacker Preston Zinter yesterday, adding him to a class that already has five-star standout Drayk Bowen. This comes after landing arguably the best linebacker haul in the country in the 2022 class.

Notre Dame could end the 2023 linebacker class with the two already on board, as the staff has met its minimum numbers need, and the class also has high quality. The Irish staff, however, will continue to recruit talented players.

STAR POWER

There are two players on the board that Notre Dame is in the game with that would add the kind of star power the staff desires. Those two prospects are Jaiden Ausberry and Samuel M'Pemba.

Ausberry lacks the ideal size that Notre Dame covets, but the Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab star is an elite football player, which makes it easy to overlook his lack of size. Ausberry has excellent athleticism and a very high football IQ.

His combination of size and athleticism would fit perfectly into the rover position, where his game would fit as perfectly into that role as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's game fit into the position.

Ausberry is a consensus Top 100 recruit and ranks No. 38 nationally on the 247Sports composite ranking. Landing him will be extremely difficult, but Notre Dame made his Top 10 finalists.

M'Pemba is a very unique player that is just scratching the surface of what he can be. That's saying a lot considering he's already a five-star recruit, ranking as the nation's No. 14 overall player on the 247Sports composite ranking.

At 6-4 and 230 pounds he has the size to play MIKE linebacker, Vyper or tight end, but he has the range and athleticism to play Rover or the WILL linebacker position.

Notre Dame was once the leader for M'Pemba but have fallen off a bit. They are still pushing and still have a shot, but there is work to be done.

NAMES TO KNOW

There are two more talented players on the board for Notre Dame.

Pennsylvania native Ta'Mere Robinson is a very intriguing player. A converted safety, Robinson brings unique length and athleticism to the position. He could play Rover or WILL in the Notre Dame defense, and his upside is quite high.

Robinson ranks as the No. 130 overall player on the 247Sports composite rankings, and Notre Dame has been high on him for some time. The only concern at this point is the fact he injured his knee in October, so he'll need to show he's healthy.

Penn State is the program in best position right now, and Notre Dame will need to get Robinson on campus again to have a shot, but the staff likes this talented and rangy defender.

Notre Dame offered Marlin (Texas) High School linebacker Derion Gullette in January and have quickly risen up his list of favorites. Only On3 ranks Gullette as a four-star recruit, and they have him as the No. 240 player in the country.

Gullette is a bit raw as a prospect but he can really, really run and he can hit. At 225 pounds he's a bit bigger than your typical rover prospect, but Gullette moves and covers like a Rover. That combination makes him an ideal fit for the Rover and WILL spots in the Irish defense, much like current commit Drayk Bowen. 

LONG SHOTS

Notre Dame would obviously love to have a shot with five-star linebackers Anthony Hill and Nyckoles Harbor, or Top 100 linebacker Troy Bowles, but right now the Irish are major long shots with all three players.

The good news is already having Bowen and Zinter in the class allows the Irish to narrow the board. I expect players like Phil Picciotti, Josiah Trotter, Jordan Hall, Tre Edwards, etc. to come off the board now that Zinter is in the class. 

That should allow Freeman, Chad Bowden and whoever ends up being the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach to spend even more time trying to get in the game with Hill, Harbor and Bowles, but until those prospects get on campus they shouldn't be considered realistic targets at this point.

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