Tackling Notre Dame's 2024 Target List | Defense
As we’ve said for the last week or so, clarity is coming to Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class.
The class likely won’t be complete until sometime in December, but the Irish will go into the fall with far more answers than questions, especially following Taebron Bennie-Powell’s announcement on Wednesday.
All that means now is as good a time as any to take a run through the 2024 Target List.
Earlier, we examined the offensive side of the ball, which you can see HERE.
Now, let’s take a look at the Irish’s defensive targets in the Class of 2024.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Sean Sevillano Jr. – Commit
Justin Scott – Target
There’s been plenty of movement at this position over the past month – especially with the departure of longtime commit Owen Wafle along with the pledge of Sevillano a couple months ago – but the overall picture remains the same.
One solid commit and one target that will be on the board until the very end.
There was a time when Scott seemed days away from being a Notre Dame commit, but this recruitment has been a rollercoaster ever since – even before really. But the Irish are in this race for the long run. While Scott has taken officials to Georgia, Michigan and Miami with Ohio State coming this week, Notre Dame is content waiting until the fall – likely Sept 23rd – to host him for an official.
This recruitment has been up-and-down for over a year now and at this point, it’s probably best for Irish fans to let things play out rather than hang on every word following visits elsewhere.
If Scott makes a final decision before getting back to South Bend, Notre Dame won’t be the pick. But if he returns for the Ohio State game – or before – the Irish will have a chance to remind him why they’ve been so high on his board for so long.
DEFENSIVE END
Cole Mullins – Commit
Bryce Young – Commit
Loghan Thomas – Commit
Targets TBA
Overall, Spring was a tremendous period for recruiting defensive ends with the Irish landing three of their top targets at the spot.
Thomas’ commitment shrunk the board quite a bit, but now that board is likely to see some expansion.
All sources agreed that Notre Dame wouldn’t be a player for Elijah Rushing following the Arizona defensive end’s official visit earlier this month. And while the case of Mylachi Williams remains a curious one, we don’t expect him to be a target moving forward.
Instead, look for the Irish to evaluate prospects this fall and for the board to expand with new names then.
LINEBACKER
Teddy Rezac – Commit
Bodie Kahoun – Commit
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa – Target
Bradley Shaw – Target
The names at linebacker are pretty set – at least for now – but exactly how it plays out is still very much in flux.
The Irish trusted their evaluation on Rezac and moved quickly to get him in the fold, followed quickly by landing Kahoun.
Notre Dame crushed official visits with both Shaw and Viliamu-Asa this month, coming out of the trips feeling like they had great shots at both.
Viliamu-Asa has Notre Dame in his top three along with USC and Ohio State. He completes his officials with a trip to Columbus this weekend with a decision expected in July. At the moment, Irish sources are feeling confident about landing.
Shaw has been perhaps the most pleasant development for the Irish over the past few weeks. Coming into his official, Notre Dame seemed to be taking a “We’ll see…We’ve got nothing to lose,” attitude. Coming out of the visit, the Irish felt like they had a real shot to land him over multiple SEC programs.
Shaw’s process could play out into the season as he has only taken officials to Notre Dame and Arkansas thus far and has intimated he wants to take multiple more visits before making a decision.
It’s not clear if it’s been decided for sure yet, but the feeling at this point is that Shaw is probably too good to turn away even if Viliamu-Asa chooses the Irish.
CORNERBACK
Karson Hobbs – Commit
Leonard Moore – Commit
Kaleb Beasley – Target
The Irish cornerback board has been set for months now.
After flipping Karson Hobbs from South Carolina and landing Leonard Moore out of Texas, Notre Dame has had its sights set on Kaleb Beasley.
Beasley was seriously considering the Irish before committing to Tennessee in October and has kept in contact since, even coming back for another visit a couple months ago.
Like Justin Scott, the feeling is that Beasley’s recruitment will go down until the end and the Irish are more than willing to be patient.
If they’re unable to flip Beasley, we believe the Irish will be comfortable signing just two.
SAFETY
Kennedy Urlacher – Commit
Taebron Bennie-Powell – Commit
Brauntae Johnson – Target
Wednesday’s commitment of Bennie-Powell provided further clarity to the Irish’s safety board, which not all that long ago was cloudy at best.
Bennie-Powell joins Urlacher with Johnson expected to join the group when he makes his announcement on Saturday.
One of the few remaining questions for the board is whether the Irish will continue to pursue Malcolm Ziglar if they land Johnson. Coming into Ziglar’s official visit last weekend, we were leaning against it. Coming out of that trip, we were told it was a possibility. But in the wake of Ziglar scheduling a commitment next month, we’re again feeling that it’s unlikely. If something changes, we’ll return him to the list, but until then, he’s off it.
Also, we’re not including Davis Andrews here since the Utah safety has told ISD he intends to take a mission and will essentially be a 2026 prospect.
SUMMARY
There are still questions at every position on the defensive side of the board, but overall, the Irish are in good shape and the foundation of the group is in place.
It’ll be interesting to see who else the Irish pursue at defensive end, but Viliamu-Asa, Scott and Beasley will go a long way in determining the outlook of this class.
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