5 Favorite Prospects in Notre Dame's 2024 Class
Tariq Bracy (2018), Kyren Williams (2019), Howard Cross (2019), and Joe Alt (2021) were on my list of favorite prospects Notre Dame has signed in recent years. They weren’t the highest ranked players and they definitely weren’t viewed as can’t-miss prospects by the recruiting services, but there was something about all of them that stood out to me during the recruiting process that separated them from others.
Each year on signing day I list my five favorite prospects in Notre Dame’s recruiting class. I’m not immune to picking the highly ranked guys (Kyle Hamilton and Jeremiyah Love were included when they signed) and this year I did pick three players who in my opinion are top-50 level talents in this recruiting cycle. I can’t imagine anyone can blame me for doing so.
DE Bryce Young
This is what I wrote about Young when he committed to Notre Dame back in April:
Young was 6-3 208 when he was first offered and had not played defensive line full time. He’s now 6’5” 242 and growing. He’s bigger than he was during his junior season and once his frame fills out, he’s going to be a beast.
My ranking on him is primarily about projecting that growth, the physical traits I see, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he has the genetics and that his Dad played and coached defensive line.
I see him making a big leap as a senior and in a lot of ways he is like Joe Alt was during his recruitment. His raw tools are exciting and I think he has potential to develop into a high-level starter at defensive end.
I’d say he took that leap and Alt still feels like an apt comparison in terms of his long-term potential. Young has special traits and that showed up on the field as a senior. It’s scary because he still has so much room to grow as a player.
I have to admit that his Dad was a favorite of mine when he played for Notre Dame, but it wouldn’t matter if Bryce was related to Bryant or not. I love defensive linemen and Young has the talent to become a great one at Notre Dame.
LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
Violent. Instinctive. Intelligent. Versatile. An elite player who produces against elite competition.
What’s not to like about KVA as a prospect? He’s the type of player that has the potential to not just be great on the field, but a culture setter in the locker room.
Not just one of my favorite prospects in this class for Notre Dame, he’s one of my favorites who they have landed since I’ve been covering the team during the last decade.
TE Jack Larsen
Larsen isn’t a traditional “Y” tight end, so he’s not a traditional Notre Dame tight end. I don’t know if he’ll ever be suited to thrive in-line because he may never be that big. I suppose that’s a reason why his ranking has dropped for some services.
In order for him to succeed, he has to become a big time receiving threat. I think that can happen because I’ve seen how he is different in person in terms of short area quickness and route running. I think linebackers and safeties are going to have a difficult time against him in man coverage.
It’s weird to consider a tight end who signed with Notre Dame as an underdog, but Larsen kind of fits that description. Maybe that’s another reason why he’s one of favorites in the this class.
OT Styles Prescod
Prescod flashed all the tools to be a future left tackle for the Irish before he committed to Notre Dame and he built on that considerably as a senior. He took a big step in his development and I think the consensus on his ranking is nuts.
I think he’s closer to a top-100 level prospect and 247Sports having him as a 3-star is ridiculous.
He’s a bit overshadowed in this class because Guerby Lambert is (correctly) considered one of the top offensive tackles in the cycle, but Prescod is darn close to Lambert as a prospect. He has great feet and he’s a finisher in the run game.
WR Cam Williams
I won’t be able to keep writing this much after today because soon it will be time for him to prove it at Notre Dame, but Williams is the best receiver prospect that the Irish have signed since Michael Floyd. That’s not a controversial statement when looking at his ranking, but it still should be said because Williams has that kind of potential.
Williams is probably closer to Will Fuller than Floyd when it comes to speed and I don’t think there has been a more fun receiver to watch at Notre Dame than Fuller in recent years. On any given play, Fuller was a threat to cook a defensive back and he delivered plenty of memorable moments doing so.
I think there’s a great chance we’ll see similar results from Williams. I’m very excited to see how he develops over the next few years.
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