Where Things Stand With Notre Dame Safety Recruiting

Breaking down where things stand for Notre Dame when it comes to recruiting the safety position

It wasn't overly surprising, but Notre Dame officially missed out on its top safety target in the 2022 class when Xavier Nwankpa committed to Iowa. Notre Dame's staff made a hard push for Nwankpa but in the end he decided to stay in state.

There might be some concern about the recruiting success of first-year position coach Chris O'Leary, but if you look big picture there is some reason to feel comfortable with the direction things are going.

O'Leary wasn't hired until February, so the 2023 class is his first full class, and that is the class by which his initial recruiting success must be evaluated. I also don't fault O'Leary for why the Irish lost out on Nwankpa, as there were other issues going on there.

The fact is O'Leary needs to start having some success soon, but he's got a chance to do just that.

NEED HAS CHANGED

Notre Dame wanted and needed a safety in the 2022 class, and in some ways the staff did make that happen when it landed Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic defensive back Jayden Bellamy. A hybrid cornerback/safety commit, Bellamy is likely to end up at safety ,so even though he was recruited by Mike Mickens he'll likely end up helping out the safety depth chart.

But the pickup of Bellamy isn't why Notre Dame doesn't need to panic about losing Nwankpa, who certainly would have been a huge pickup for the Irish. A month ago the future of the safety position was a major, major question mark, but things changed when sophomores Xavier Watts and Ramon Henderson were moved to the position.

Both Watts and Henderson are redshirt freshmen that have three seasons of eligibility remaining. 

Henderson moved from cornerback and made a start that same week when the Irish traveled to Virginia. He played quite well in the 28-3 win and also performed well in the 55-0 win over Georgia Tech. Henderson looked far, far more comfortable playing safety than he ever did at cornerback, and he added a huge boost in pure speed to the position.

Watts moved over from wide receiver and his athleticism pops off the film, and he's more than willing to strike. His technique still needs a lot of work but his speed, physicality and upside provided the safety depth chart with a huge boost. 

Notre Dame has the option to bring back seniors Houston Griffith and DJ Brown, who both started games this season. That duo combines with Henderson and Watts to give the safety depth chart a chance to shine next season just like it did down the stretch of the 2021 season.

The Irish also have true freshmen Justin Walters and Khari Gee, and we've seen junior KJ Wallace show the ability to play safety and nickel at times. Of course, the Irish will also welcome Bellamy in the summer.

From a pure numbers standpoint the arrival of Watts and Henderson during the season made the numbers for the 2022 roster look much, much better. Yes, landing Nwankpa would have been huge, but the Irish should be okay if everyone returns and continues developing the way we saw late in the 2021 season.

If the staff can find the right fit they will push for that player, but they aren't in a position of "need." For example, the staff recently offered Walled Lake (Mich.) Western athlete Koen Entringer, who projects as a safety. He's a talented player but the Irish have work to do if they want to land him.

But again, if they miss the depth chart should be okay in the short term.

STAFF HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON 2023 FOR SOME TIME

Despite the perceived need for safeties in the 2022 - including me - the Notre Dame staff hasn't seem all that concerned about expanding its safety board. The staff knew since right after the USC game that it was a long shot for Nwankpa, who soon after that visit cut off contact with Notre Dame.

At that point we did not see the staff start pushing hard to find other prospects in the class. It would seem the staff is comfortable with the current roster, at least comfortable enough to shift its focus even more on the 2023 class.

The reality is the staff started making a much harder push on 2023 safeties back in the summer. It wanted Nwankpa in 2022 and then focused the rest of its attention on the 2023 class, and so far it has worked out quite well.

Notre Dame landed a commitment Irvington (N.J.) High School standout Adon Shuler in August. He proceeded to have an outstanding junior season and that pickup - which was the first for O'Leary - looks even better now. Landing Shuler gives the staff a strong foundation to build its secondary class, which I expect to grow soon.

O'Leary and the defensive staff - including then defensive coordinator and now head coach Marcus Freeman and corners coach Mike Mickens - zeroed in on a pair of very, very talented safeties it would like to pair with Shuler.

Not landing another safety in the 2022 class would make it much, much easier - and necessary - to land three safeties in the 2023 class.

Notre Dame's "dream scenario" at safety includes pairing Shuler with a pair of elite back end recruits - Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek standout Caleb Downs and Denton (Texas) Guyer athlete Peyton Bowen. 

There are other talented safeties on the board, but there is no doubt that Downs and Bowen are the primary targets and the must-gets for the staff. Not only are all three - Downs, Bowen, Shuler - very talented prospects, their individual skillsets blend very well together. There are plenty of things Freeman and the defense could do with them on the field together, and we also know that Notre Dame has shown a desire to have a legitimate three to four-man rotation at the position.

How O'Leary fairs in these two recruitments will go a long way towards him proving his chops as a recruiter.

Downs is an exceptionally talented safety that can cover at a very high level. He ranks as the nation's No. 13 overall player on the 247Sports composite board. Bowen is a long and rangy athlete that ranks No. 59 overall in the class. Shuler currently ranks as the nation's No. 150 overall player, but expect that ranking to go up.

There is no doubt that Nwankpa was a loss, but O'Leary, Freeman, Mickens and Director of Recruiting for defense Chad Bowden didn't wait around on Nwankpa, they began their hard push for Downs and Bowen going all the way back to the summer. Neither will be easy to land, but getting at least one solidifies the 2023 safety class, while landing both would give the Irish a safety haul that would be the envy of the rest of the college football world.

Do that and it's gap closed.

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