Yesterday we took a look at recruiting needs and the depth of the current Notre Dame football team on the offensive side of the ball. The Irish appear to have met most needs on offense with quality players, but still need to add some key pieces to push towards continued success in the future. What about the defensive side?
At this point, things are less clear in regards to the defense. One, we’re not really sure how these Irish players will develop in the Mike Elko defense, and two, there are a lot of “potential” and “talented” players on the roster, but very few are proven, and certainly less as you start to look at depth.
Again, we mentioned a target number of 22 commitments for the 2018 recruiting class. We’ve divided them up evenly with 11 going to offense and 11 going to defense. With 6 current commits on the defensive side, that leaves only five spots left for 2018. That means the Irish need to sign some elite players with their last five slots for 2018.
DT/NG: 2017 will be Daniel Cage’s last season.
Jerry Tillery, Pete Mokwuah and Jonathan Bonner will all have another year of eligibility after the 2017 season.
Elijah Taylor, Brandon Tisassum and Micah Dew-Treadway will all have two years of eligibility after 2017.
The Irish do have Darnell Ewell, Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa enrolling in the fall, and all three could end up playing nose or defensive tackle at ND.
The numbers look good. The Irish would have 9 players for two positions in 2018, which is great in regards to numbers, but which of these 9 players could be labeled an elite player? How many actually have the potential to be an elite player? From my eyes, I’m not sure there are many.
Rick Kimball/ISD
Jay Hayes
There are a lot of big bodies. A few have elite potential but either haven’t developed yet, or haven’t arrived yet. Others look to be solid contributors if they develop. Some, I’m not sure will ever pan out.
The Irish do have Jayson Ademilola committed in 2018, and he’s a quality prospect with a lot of potential. Ideally, the Irish would love to land a true nose guard in this class as Ademilola is probably more of a defensive tackle prospect but could grow into a nose guard. They’d like to get one more if possible.
DE: The Irish will lose Andrew Trumbetti after the 2017 season.
Jay Hayes will return after 2017 with another year of eligibility.
Daelin Hayes, Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem all have two years of eligibility after this season. It will be interesting to see if Hayes uses both. If he continues to grow like he is, my guess is we’ll have him for 2018 and that’s it.
Ade Ogundeji will have three years remaining after 2017, and he’s shown some good flashes recently that lead me to believe he could be a guy who can get into the mix somewhere soon.
The defense does add Jonathon MacCollister and Kofi Wardlow to the roster this fall. Neither were ranked very high, and both appear to be developmental players at this point, but both possess some good traits.
For 2018 recruiting, the Irish have a commitment from Justin Ademilola. He’s listed at 6-3, 230 right now, but will likely grow some before he enrolls at ND. As of now, he would be more of a rush end type.
What the Irish need to find is another elite pass rusher in this class. Sadly, I cannot name one they lead for right now, so I can’t give you a name, but it’s important they land one in this class because I am not sure they landed one in last year’s class.
The good news is ND seems to be in good shape this year, and Hayes, Okwara and Kareem all appear to be “hits.” Ogundeji also appears to be trending that way. We don’t know yet what we have in MacCollister, Wardlow or Ademilola….all three are ranked as 3-star prospects.
LB: The Irish will lose two quality linebackers in Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini after this season.
Te’Von Coney will have another year of eligibility after this season.
Jamir Jones, Asmar Bilal and Josh Barajas will have 2 more seasons available after 2017.
Jonathan Jones will have 3 years left after this season.
Notre Dame does add David Adams, Drew White and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to the roster this fall.
The problem as I see it, Notre Dame has too many “Mike” backers. Jonathan Jones is a Mike, or was recruited as one. But so is David Adams, and Drew White’s best position is likely Mike as well. Jamir Jones has been playing Mike while Jonathan Jones has been playing Buck, but I think they’re both better Mike backers than Buck. Barajas had been a Mike in the previous defense. Bilal is probably a better Buck candidate, but they need him at Rover this season. In reality, Coney is probably a better Mike backer as well than a Buck.
I wouldn’t classify any of Adams, White, Jamir Jones, Jonathan Jones, Te’Von Coney or Josh Barajas as “athletic” linebackers. None are going to wow you with speed, quickness and agility. But, I do believe many of them can be good football players, but only one Mike can be on the field at a time.
My guess is Bilal, Jonathan Jones and Drew White will play Buck moving forward, while Coney, Jamir Jones, Barajas and Adams will be Mike backers in 2018.
One player whose potential I really love is Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. He seems like the perfect Rover candidate for this defense. He’s very athletic with long arms, but also played safety in high school, so he’s well versed in pass coverage concepts, but also very physical in the box. He could be an outstanding player with good coaching.
The good news is ND landed a commitment from 2018 linebacker, Bo Bauer. The bad news is Bauer’s best position is likely at Mike as well.
The Irish also have a commitment from Ovie Oghoufo. Ofghoufo is a very interesting prospect because he has the athleticism to play Rover, but he also could grow into a pass rush specialist on 3rd down. He has very long arms and fast-twitch ability. I feel he’s a real sleeper in this 2018 class because of the length to also go with very good quickness.
Irish Sports Daily
Drue Tranquill
The Irish have plenty of bodies. They just have too many Mike backers who likely aren’t an ideal fit at Rover or Buck.
Sure, ND will slot them so they have plenty of depth, but are these ideal candidates for each position?
Like DT/NG, I don’t see any “sure bets’ out of this group, but there are a few who have a lot of potential. So far, the Irish are lacking in “star power” at linebacker for the future. With likely only one slot to give in 2018, they have to find a way to get it right.
S: Nicco Fertitta and Nick Coleman will have one year left after this season.
Ashton White, Devin Studstill and Jalen Elliott will have two seasons after 2017.
DJ Morgan will have three years remaining.
Freshman Isaiah Robertson is already on campus and has made a positive impression, and Jordan Genmark-Heath will soon be joining him.
The Irish have solid numbers now that White and Coleman have made the switch. The good news is that Coleman appears to be a real good prospect at free safety earning the starting job in a very short period of time. That leaves strong safety wide open. Sophomores Devin Studstill and Jalen Elliott are battling for that spot right now, but don’t count out freshman, Isaiah Robertson. He still has a lot to learn, but what matters is what happens on the field, and he makes plays and is an enforcer in run support.
The emergence of Coleman and Robertson might’ve saved Brian Kelly a headache. He really needs to land 2 more corners in this class, but he really didn’t have the spots for two. But, since Coleman and Robertson are showing a lot of promise, and if Genmark-Heath does as well, taking a second safety might not be such a big need. I like Genmark-Heath on film. I think he has a lot of potential to be a real good safety prospect, but is he free safety prospect? He’s very athletic for his size, but he is a pretty big body already listed at 6-2, 205. A future free safety is what they really need at this point as there is no obvious backup for Coleman.
That won’t be a problem if/when 2018 commitment, Derrik Allen, signs with Notre Dame. Allen has elite talent, and the odds of him “missing” aren’t very high. I’d be fine with just Allen if Genmark-Heath looks good this summer and fall, and I bet he will. The need is one more at most, and I’d gamble for a corner versus a safety at this point if numbers are tight.
CB: The corner numbers are scary.
Julian Love, Dante Vaughn, Troy Pride and Shaun Crawford will all have two years remaining after this season, but that’s all they have for numbers right now after this season.
All four corners appear to be guys who can play, but there is no future beyond them at this point.
The Irish do have Kalon Gervin committed already for 2018, but they really need to find two more, and they need to be guys who have a real shot of playing at this level. The time for “projects” is long past, and it’s time to land real, legit players who can be counted on to run with the best receivers in the country, because they’re going to have to when the above 4 are gone in a few years—they have nobody else so these 3 will have to be counted on. Gervin is a quality start, but they have to find two more at least as talented as he is.
This should be very easy sell, but so far Notre Dame is struggling to gain interest from the top corner prospects in the country. I have no idea why that would be considering the opportunity available. Everyone above a 2018 signee would be gone in two years.
The need is 2 more at minimum, and if I could find a way to squeeze another in, I would, if he were a top target. A team can never have enough quality corner prospects.
Once again, if you’re keeping score, the needs are.
Nose guard
Pass rusher defensive end
An athletic linebacker who could play Rover or Buck
2 elite corners
If I were Brian Kelly, and I felt I could extend past 22, I’d make sure my 23rd slot was for a defender, either a corner or safety, or elite pass rusher. They have enough of everything else.
