Notre Dame's Commits Making Returning To Campus A Major Priority
Notre Dame currently has the No. 5 recruiting class in the country per the 247 Composite rankings and while the No. 1 class is out of reach with Nick Saban making it his personal mission to top Jimbo Fisher’s class, the future of the Fighting Irish is extremely bright.
Marcus Freeman’s first class is not only impressive in terms of depth, but in quality of talent as the average ranking is higher than any Brian Kelly class at 92.68.
Yes, there has been some drama with commits taking visits to other programs, but Notre Dame will host most of its commits on campus sooner than later with two night games coming up as Stanford and Clemson come to South Bend.
The heart of the class, 2023 linebacker Drayk Bowen, will be at every remaining home game and will head to Vegas to watch Notre Dame play BYU next weekend.
2023 four-star running back commit Dylan Edwards took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame at the end of July and quickly flipped his commitment from Kansas State to the Fighting Irish. Edwards will return to campus for the Stanford game for his official visit.
Much like Edwards, 2023 safety commit Benjamin Minich made a late July visit and committed to the Irish in August. The ISD four-star prospect was on campus for the Cal game earlier this month and he’ll return for his official visit for the clash against Stanford.
2024 receiver commit Cam Williams was at the Cal game and will return for the Stanford game.
Bowen, Edwards, Minich and Williams will also be joined by 2023 four-star cornerback commit Christian Gray. Gray likely will be joined by some of the finest St. Louis area talent as 2023 running back Jeremiyah Love, 2024 receiver Ryan Wingo and 2024 receiver Jeremiah McClellan are also expected to return to campus.
The Clemson game will be loaded visitors list when it comes to commits and recruits as you’d expect.
As it stands now, Notre Dame is expecting:
2023
RB Dylan Edwards
WR Braylon James
TE Cooper Flanagan
OL Sullivan Absher
OL Charles Jagusah
OL Joe Otting
OL Sam Pendleton
DL Boubacar Traore
DL Brenan Vernon
LB Drayk Bowen - Official Visit
LB Preston Zinter
CB Christian Gray
S Peyton Bowen
S Adon Shuler
2024
QB CJ Carr
TE Jack Larsen
WR Cam Williams
OL Peter Jones
We also expect several of Notre Dame’s top 2024 prospects to make their way to Notre Dame as well. Four-star linebacker Kristopher Jones, four-star cornerback Eli Bowen and four-star safety Kaj Sanders have already informed ISD they plan on being at Notre Dame that weekend. Top 2025 Findlay (Ohio) quarterback Ryan Montgomery is also expected to be in South Bend.
2023 defensive line commit Armel Mukam will take his official visit to Notre Dame for the final home game of the year as the Fighting Irish will host Boston College.
Oh, Notre Dame is also expecting a number of commits to make their way out to Las Vegas next weekend for the Shamrock Series game against BYU.
Running back Jayden Limar, receiver Rico Flores Jr., receiver Jaden Greathouse, receiver Braylon James, tight end Cooper Flanagan and linebacker Drayk Bowen are all expected to be in Allegiant Stadium next weekend.
Notre Dame may have started a little rocky, but it’s clear getting back to campus is important for the class of 2023 and that’s reflected by so many players returning to campus - and even Las Vegas.
Heck, 2023 offensive line commit Sam Pendleton even made the trip to Chapel Hill last weekend to watch the Notre Dame offensive line dominate the Tar Heels.
Now, the Notre Dame staff still has eight games to play before the Early Signing Period, but they deserve credit for weathering the latest storm. Freeman being available at all times to talk with recruits and being driven to recruit has made a significant difference, but the leadership and organization of Chad Bowden also shouldn’t get lost.
It’s clear recruiting matters to Bowden and it’s reflected by every recruit gravitating to him on their visit. The Notre Dame staff has also done a great job staying in constant communication with the 2023 class and continuing to recruit each commit as they know other schools sensed blood in the water two weeks ago.
All in all, Notre Dame is continuing to make major strides in recruiting and will have a chance to make lasting impressions over the final eight weeks of the regular season.
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