Two Class Comparison: Offense
As most of you know, when I look at judging a recruiting class, I want to look at two classes combined to get a better understanding of how well the coaching staff is filling their needs in recruiting. A team can’t build a strong roster with just one class, so it’s important to look at two classes together to get a better understanding of how well they’re filling their needs.
Let’s take a look at offense first.
Quarterback
2019: Brendon Clark
2020: Drew Pyne
Comments: On paper, this isn’t a home run. Pyne was a four-star prospect, and a smaller QB, and Clark was a three-star prospect, but with a lot of physical tools and upside. The ISD staff has seen Clark play, and I think we’ve all been surprised by how well he’s adapted to the Notre Dame system. We felt he needed some seasoning, but he hit the ground running and looked very impressive in the amount of time we’ve watched him. Like all young QBs, they tend to look good in the 1-on-1 and 7-on-7 situations, but struggle when it’s 11-on-11. Clark did struggle, but he didn’t look lost at all, and most freshmen do in those situations. Clark has a big arm, great size, and he’s a running threat. He’s a prospect who would start early at a lot of places and be a very effective player. Can he beat the odds and start at Notre Dame? Don’t count this guy out.
Pyne reminds me a lot of Ian Book. His physical tools aren’t overly impressive, but he gets results, and that’s what matters. We simply won’t know what we have until we see him in the offense. I’m looking forward to seeing how he looks in the spring.
In the end, if Phil Jurkovec lives up to his ranking and hype, these guys may be sitting for awhile. If he doesn’t, they’ll be called to play very quickly, so they’ll have to be ready.
Grade: On paper it’s a C+, I tend to think it’s a B because of what I’ve seen from Clark.
Running Back
2019: Karen Williams
2020: Chris Tyree
Comments: ND could’ve taken another running back here, but they didn’t need to. I think them waiting also sets up 2021 for hopefully another elite back. Running backs know they have to share the ball, but if you have too many elite backs, they’ll quickly look elsewhere, especially if you are not known for producing NFL backs, which the Irish are not.
I still love the potential of Kyren Williams. He’s not a home run back, but he’s very shifty in the hole, has good quickness, good vision, and he can run with some power. He has fantastic hands as a receiver as well. To be honest, I was surprised they redshirted him, but I understand why. The 2020 season will be interesting because we don’t know if Tony Jones, Jr. is coming back, and what they plan to do with Jafar Armstrong. If both are gone, look for Kyren to push for a lot of playing time.
Tyree will have to play in 2020. They need his speed and home run-hitting ability at the position. Hopefully he will be ready to play. Notre Dame hasn’t signed a running back with his ability to make people miss and top end speed in a very long time. I honestly can’t think of the last one with his kind of potential.
Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
2019: Kendall Abdur-Rahman
2020: Jordan Johnson, Jay Brunelle, Xavier Watts
Comments: Losing 2019 wide receiver, Cam Hart, to defense kind of creates a hole here. He was lost to defense because the Irish didn’t fill their need at cornerback in the 2019 class and previously.
I like the potential of Abdur-Rahman. He surprisingly showed solid hands for a player who had never played receiver before, and he’s got outstanding quickness, the ability to turn well left and right, and top end speed. He’s an ideal slot candidate, and the Irish needed one. Hopefully he can develop quickly and push for playing time.
I love the trio of Johnson, Brunelle and Watts, especially if they stay at wide receiver. Johnson has outstanding speed, and is a really good athlete who can make people miss in open space. He reminds me of a quicker/faster Kevin Austin, and that’s a good thing. Jay Brunelle is going to bully people and become a much better player than some realize. He’s physical, and he’s tough, and has enough physical talents to be great college player. He also has the work ethic, which should help him see the field early. He will need to establish himself early to not get passed over by the talent coming in behind him.
I’m a big Xavier Watts fan as well. He can play a lot of positions for ND, but will holes at defensive back force him over to the defense like it did Cam Hart? I hope not as I think he could really be special on offense.
Grade: B+, but it would drop to a B if Watts has to move to defense.
Tight End
2019: No one
2020: Michael Mayer, Kevin Bauman
Comments: The Irish didn’t take a tight end in 2019 because they had taken two in each of 2017 and 2018. There just wasn’t a need as they had both numbers and talent in those classes, but it was important to do well in 2020 and they did.
I think Michael Mayer is the most talented tight end Notre Dame has signed since I’ve been covering them, almost 25 years, and probably longer than that. Mayer already has outstanding size at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, but he also has very good speed to challenge linebackers and safeties vertically. He can out-size and out-muscle anyone at linebacker and safety already, which makes him very difficult to defend. He’s a great route-runner, shows excellent hands, and was a star at the Opening challenge last summer competing against the very best in the country. The sky is the limit.
I almost feel bad for Kevin Bauman in that he’d be a prize in any class without Mayer. He’s a bigger body, a good in-line blocker, but he’s also athletic and shows solid hands. He’s the type of guy who would need a year and then push for a starting position at Notre Dame in any roster without Mayer. To be honest, Mayer hasn’t won the job yet, and Bauman is more than capable to start and play at Notre Dame. He just gets lost in the shuffle. He’s a talented kid who should at least play at Notre Dame.
Grade: A
Offensive Line
2019: John Olmstead, Quinn Carroll, Zeke Correll, Andrew Kristofic
2020: Tosh Baker, Michael Carmody
Comments: Not being able to flip Jonah Monheim at the end was a blow for me because I think he will be special player, and he was a true offensive guard. I just think guards have a different mentality than tackles—see Q. Nelson versus Ronnie Stanley. Both great players. Both great at what they do, but different players.
However, it appears ND has signed four tackles, one guard and one offensive center who could also play guard out of this group. I don’t like the numbers here, and I’ve been outspoken about it since the beginning, but I also understand it does nobody good to take a player who cannot play at this level.
The good news is I think ND has signed two potential left tackles in Kristofic and Baker, and two right tackles in Carrol and Carmody. Olstead appears destined for guard duty, and Correll can play either center or guard.
The other good news is early returns have been very promising on Carroll (before the injury), Kristofic and Correll. Each player in both classes was considered a four-star player by the experts, so that’s also a plus.
I like the potential of this group, but if they could’ve added Monheim, I would loved the potential of this group. I love me some linemen, and I think he was a can’t miss player.
Regardless, this is a real talented group. ND should be able to build a great future O-line out of many of these players, but it will be critical they land some elite linemen in this cycle.
If there is one position ND should always be elite, it’s offensive line. Top offensive linemen are usually very interested in Notre Dame, the majority at least come on a visit, which isn’t true of most positions, and they’re almost always the smartest position group in the country. There really is no valid excuse for Notre Dame not to be elite at offensive line every year. No excuse at all.
Grade: B (downgraded because of lack of numbers)
Final Word
Irish fans have been complaining all season about the lack of elite skill talent on the roster. The Irish have added a lot of it in these last two classes. They also have the makings of a solid offensive line, and some talent at QB that needs to be coached up.
Is it perfect on offense? No. Everyone wants an elite QB, and I’m not sure they landed that in these two classes, but there are usually only 2-3 for each cycle at most. I do think they’ve upgraded the speed and talent on offense, however, and that should set up the new offensive coordinator with all kinds of talent to play with in the future.
Notre Dame needs to keep building upon this momentum, and they certainly have a great start for 2021. Offensive line will be critical, but also an elite running back, and a third elite receiver, especially if Watts moves to defense. So far, they have a good start, but offensive line will be the key to the 2021 recruiting class.
We will take a look at the defensive side next.