Keys To A Top Five Class For Notre Dame: Offense
Despite the record pace of commitments, it is still earlier enough for Notre Dame to recover from its six-month long recruiting struggles on the offensive side of the ball. That needs to happen, because the ultimate key to Notre Dame achieving head coach Brian Kelly’s goal of a Top 5 class is the offensive class being elite.
According to the 247Sports composite ranking, Notre Dame currently has a five-star quarterback, a Top 100 offensive tackle, a wide receiver just outside the Top 100 and a Top 200 tight end already in the class.
There are enough impact players still on the board to allow the Irish to put together one of the nation’s very best offensive hauls, assuming the staff can get back some momentum and finish the class off as strong as it started.
Here are five key players to Notre Dame putting together an offensive class worth of ranking among the nation’s best classes. The focus is on currently uncommitted players. Of course there are players committed elsewhere that Notre Dame could try and flip, but that will be even more challenging, and will be the focus of a future article. (Note: Highlights for each player can be found at the bottom of the article)
WR DONT’E THORNTON
Composite Ranking: #47 nationally (four-star)
Notre Dame made the final six for this outstanding pass catcher, and Thornton is an essential key to an elite Irish class. Adding Thornton to a class that already has standout Lorenzo Styles Jr. would give the Irish a dynamic one-two punch at the position.
The scary thing about Thornton’s game is he isn’t close to being a finished product. He is 6-4 and 195 pounds, so he would bring much-needed size to the Irish receiver depth chart. Thornton can stretch the field, he’s a dangerous one-on-one player and he can work every part of the field. Thornton’s upside is tremendous, and he’s a legit five-star talent.
The Baltimore native announced a final six in May, and it consisted of Notre Dame, Oregon, USC, Florida State, Arizona State and Virginia. Oregon is the only team with a 247Sports crystal ball prediction for Thornton, so the Irish are clearly trailing for his commitment, but they are in the game. If offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander can ultimately land Thornton it would give the class a massive shot in the arm.
OL ROCCO SPINDLER
Composite Ranking: #44 nationally (four-star)
Notre Dame also made the final group for Spindler, who is down to the Irish, LSU, Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State. Spindler is an absolute must get for offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, and I just don’t see a pathway to a great class without him. In fact, I don’t see a pathway to even a good offensive line class without Spindler being a part of it. Notre Dame simply cannot afford to miss on Spindler.
At 6-5 and 290 pounds with an athletic build, Spindler has the length and athleticism to play tackle even though he plays guard in high school. His wrestling background, toughness and quickness also fit extremely well at guard, and that flexibility is just another key ingredient to him being one of the nation’s top blockers.
Notre Dame has long been considered the leader for the Michigan native, but his recruitment has dragged out longer than expected due to the dead period that came about due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Penn State has been trending according to some, Michigan has as many crystal balls as Notre Dame, and LSU and Ohio State must be considered legit factors. This will be a battle to the end, but it’s a battle Notre Dame must win.
OL NOLAN RUCCI
Composite Ranking: #14 nationally (five-star)
Notre Dame entered the 2021 recruiting cycle in position to land a truly elite offensive line haul. Landing Blake Fisher was a great start, but since then the Irish have missed out time and time again on its top line targets. Landing Spindler would give the Irish a good offensive line class, but if Quinn and Rees are going to land one of the nation’s best line hauls it needs a third top-level blocker.
That is where Rucci comes into the equation. Rucci is a consensus Top 100 recruit and is a five-star on the composite ranking. In some ways his body-type and game remind me of former Notre Dame All-American Mike McGlinchey, who like Rucci hails from Pennsylvania. Rucci is massive, athletic and as he grows into his body his power should explode. He has legit first-round draft pick potential, and he’s not even close to filling out his frame and game.
Notre Dame made the final nine for Rucci along with Wisconsin, Clemson, Penn State, Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Stanford. The Irish are at best in fourth place for him right now, and if I’m wrong it would mean they are even lower, so things aren’t looking good with Rucci.
But he’s still uncommitted and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to make a final decision, so Notre Dame is still in the game. Quinn, Rees and Kelly need to work some magic and figure out a way to climb up his board and eventually pull off what would be one of the biggest recruiting upsets of the Kelly tenure.
WR JAYDEN THOMAS
Composite Ranking: #184 nationally (four-star)
Landing a third highly ranked skill player (RB/WR) for five-star quarterback Tyler Buchner is important, and Thomas could be that player. Thomas isn’t a dynamic athlete, but he’s an intelligent and talented wide receiver with an advanced game. What makes Thomas such a must-get player is how well he complements Styles and how much he would also complement Thornton.
A class with Styles, Thornton and Thomas would be incredibly diverse. Styles is the skinny, athletic, big-play weapon that can stretch the field, do damage after the catch and work in the slot or outside. Thornton gives Notre Dame a long and athletic vertical player that is perfect for the boundary position. Thomas would give the offense a physical pass catcher with advanced route running skills, strong hands and strong run blocking traits.
For a time it seemed the Irish were trending in a great direction with Thomas, and some of my sources even said he could be on the verge of committing to Notre Dame. If the staff can finish that off and close with Thomas it would be huge for the class, but that is looking to be a much tougher task now than it was a month ago. Michigan and other programs are making a hard change for Thomas, and the Irish are now in a dog fight for him.
RB LOGAN DIGGS
Composite Ranking: #505 nationally (three-star)
Don’t let the three-star ranking fool you, Diggs is a very talented running back, and it would not shock me at all if Diggs sees his ranking skyrocket after his senior season. Diggs is the ideal Notre Dame running back. The Louisiana native has good size (6-0, 195), he can hammer between the tackles, he’s elusive in space and he can catch the football.
While he lacks top-notch speed, Diggs has a lot of extremely impressive skills, traits that are far more impressive than what you’d expect from a three-star back. Landing Diggs would give Notre Dame a player with the potential to eventually develop into a four-star player, which would help the rankings, but more importantly it would fill a need with a talented player.
Obviously a running back like Michigan’s Donovan Edwards would have a bigger impact on the class rankings, but right now Notre Dame is well behind for Edwards. It would be a tremendous surprise if Notre Dame lands Edwards.
Landing the group of five players above would give Notre Dame a pair of five-star offensive recruits (Buchner, Rucci), four Top 50 offensive recruits (Buchner, Rucci, Spindler, Thornton), five Top 100 offensive recruits (add Fisher) and eight Top 200 recruits (add Cane Berrong, Styles, Thomas).
That would be a truly outstanding haul for the Irish.
DONT'E THORNTON HIGHLIGHTS
ROCCO SPINDLER HIGHLIGHTS
NOLAN RUCCI HIGHLIGHTS
JAYDEN THOMAS HIGHLIGHTS
LOGAN DIGGS HIGHLIGHTS
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes.
Follow me on twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook