What's Next in 2023 Recruiting for Notre Dame

Never say never in recruiting.

If a player is supposed to commit and then spends the next year leaning away from Notre Dame, it doesn’t mean he won’t end up signing with the Irish. (Hello, Billy Schrauth)

If a player decommits and ends up flipping to somewhere closer to home, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t come back to his original decision (Hey there, Braden Lenzy, Aaron Lynch, and Stephon Tuitt)

The unexpected can happen. We know this because it’s happened before. The important thing is to not plan for it to go down that way. It’s good to shoot for the best case scenario, but one has to make sure to prepare for the worst case scenario.

With that in mind, Notre Dame has to go about completing their 2023 recruiting class with plenty of uncertainty as to who will be in the class. A few months ago the idea was to add players like Dante Moore‍, Ronan Hanafin‍, and Jason Moore‍ to the class while holding off other teams from flipping elite prospects like Keon Keeley‍ and Peyton Bowen‍. The best case scenario didn’t happen with the first three and we’ll see where things are headed with the other two.

Notre Dame has had way more hits than misses with the class overall and the flurry of commitments they had at different points in the summer leaves plenty of room for optimism. Now they have to build on that. They still have a chance to finish with a great class.

Unless something changes, they appear to be done at offensive line, linebacker, and tight end. Here’s a look at the holes they’ll be looking to fill the rest of the way.

Check out the latest on ISD’s Target Watch List

Edge defender

At this point in time, there really isn’t any way for Notre Dame to look at Keeley but to consider him uncommitted. It really doesn’t matter what is said at this point. Perhaps he comes back to what made him choose the Irish in the first place, but it would be unrealistic to predict that.

Even before any Keeley drama, the deck was cleared for the staff to target edge rushers when Moore chose Ohio State. While Moore is an obvious talent, it’s a better situation for the Irish to not have a glut of similar players in the 2023 and 2024 classes. They could use Vypers more so than 3-tech defensive tackles.

They jump started the process of going after edge defenders with recent offers to Tennessee commit Caleb Herring‍, Blake Purchase‍, and Jaeden Moore‍. They technically are still in on Samuel M'Pemba‍, but things appear to be trending for him to play in the SEC. They could still try and get back involved with previous targets like Chandavian Bradley‍ as well.

The top of this class has some really strong pass rushers and while they aren’t likely to find a one for one replacement for Keeley, unless they land M’Pemba, there is still the possibility that they add two very good players on the defensive line.

Skill positions

This is where it could be very interesting. Notre Dame has done a fantastic job at receiver with their three commitments as well as a quality running back prospect and recently added a dynamic speed presence in Dylan Edwards‍. They may add three more to the skill positions with quarterback being the priority.

Can they gain some traction with Pitt commit Kenny Minchey‍? We’ll see if they can get him on campus for a game this fall and then anything could happen from there. I’m a fan of his game and think his ranking is going to continue to rise as the process continues.

If that doesn’t happen, then they’ll have to look at new offers. Senior film and coaches on the hot seat at certain schools could open things up in the next month or two.

At receiver they recently offered Taeshaun Lyons‍, an intriguing player who doesn’t have outstanding track speed, but his play speed is a different story with his 30.8 yards per reception as a junior as evidence.

The x-factor is Jeremiyah Love‍, who might not have a defined position on offense, but wherever he plays he can be a threat to create a big play with electric speed (4.38 40). I see him as a similar talent to former Notre Dame receiver/running back CJ Prosise. There is no indication of when he will announce his decision, but the Irish are battling with Texas A&M to land him.

Will Notre Dame offer more receivers or attempt to flip a prospect committed elsewhere? That feels like a safe bet once they get into September.

Defensive back

This likely depends on the status of Peyton Bowen‍. If he stays in the class, Notre Dame is more than likely done at defensive back and it’s pretty much a home run at the position. The probability of him sticking seems much more likely than Keeley at the moment.

The Irish could be done at defensive back regardless of what happens, but it is at least something worth monitoring going forward.

Notre Dame has skill position needs to fill in this class and a pretty significant hole at edge rusher with as many as two being added at that position. With home games coming up very soon, we’ll find out soon enough which uncommitted 2023 prospects they bring on visits.

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