When evaluating recruits who sign with Notre Dame, I do my best to give the most fair and accurate analysis possible. I don’t claim to bat anywhere close to 1.000 in my evaluations, but anyone who does is a liar. Everyone gets some evaluations wrong and the important thing for me or anyone doing this job is to learn from every hit and miss.
That’s why it’s critical to look back on grades and notes on these players after their college career is over. You have to learn and evolve or else you'll never succeed in this industry. With that in mind, it’s helpful to look back on the five players that Notre Dame recruited and signed out of high school who were selected in the 2025 NFL. Let’s take a look at what I wrote about Benjamin Morrison, Xavier Watts, Jack Kiser, Mitchell Evans, and Rylie Mills as recruits.
Benjamin Morrison (2nd round pick)
Morrison not running a 40 in the lead up to the NFL Draft and still going where he did says it all about the kind of player he was at Notre Dame. For his three years in college, there might not have been a better man coverage corner in all of college football. He’s a first round pick if he was healthy and based on how he played, he should have been a consensus top-50 recruit out of high school.
I wrote this about him in his Film Don’t Lie back when he committed.
“He might not be the ideal size to play the boundary, but he plays big enough to succeed there while also having the tools to play the field corner spot. I think he has the kind of instincts and athleticism to be an option as a nickel as well. That versatility should help him compete early in his career.”
I followed up with this on him after watching his senior film.
“I really loved what I saw from cornerback Benjamin Morrison as a senior. I think he’s faster and a better athlete than some have portrayed him to be. I bumped him up to a 92 from my previous grade of 90.”
My grade of 92 was higher than every other service. I think his ranking got hurt by him not participating in the camp circuit, but his senior film was fantastic.
ISD 92
On3 89 3-star
247 90
ESPN 80 (lowest number for 4-star)
Rivals 5.8 (30th ranked CB)
Xavier Watts (3rd round)
I don’t think anyone would have predicted that Watts was going to finish his career as an all-time great for Notre Dame when he first committed, but that’s how he should be considered after his last two seasons for the Irish. He’s tied for third in career interceptions and was the best player on a team that won 14 games.
I liked his potential at receiver, but I always thought that playing on either side of the ball was an option for him.
“He’s a multi-sport (basketball and track) and multi-position athlete, which is always a huge plus. That also tells me that he is nowhere close to reaching his potential because he hasn’t focused solely on his future position.
“He has great after-the-catch skills as a receiver and he's fluid and finds the football as a defender. Irish fans should be very excited about his versatility and the staff did a great job identifying someone with the potential to create explosive plays.”
When the 2020 class signed, I chose Watts as the most underrated player in that class for our signing day superlatives.
“WR Xavier Watts - If he was from a different state, more people would have taken notice of his talent. He's an explosive athlete who can play on either side of the ball for the Irish.”
I also gave Watts a much higher grade than everyone else in the industry.
ISD 93
247 90
ESPN 80
Rivals 5.7 (3-star)
(on3 did not exist in 2020)
Jack Kiser (4th round)
Kiser started for multiple seasons and was a key player on defense for Marcus Freeman’s lone season at defensive coordinator and all three seasons since Freeman has been Notre Dame’s head coach.
In high school, he was a dominant player against lower level competition in Indiana, but clearly had the athletic chops to compete at the next level. I think what I wrote about him after his senior season was pretty spot on.
“I feel the exact same way about him after his senior year as I did before it. It’s going to be an adjustment for him when he gets on campus in January, but I believe he hasn’t scratched the surface with his potential. He has put almost zero focus on playing linebacker as he did everything for his team as a quarterback/safety. The athletic traits and instincts he’s shown at those other positions project well there, but he’s going to have to develop under Clark Lea. He has a lot of physical maturation to do as well.
“As a leader, athlete, and playmaker, he checks the necessary boxes. The 3-star prospects who surprisingly end up as multi-year starters are just like him as well. They are typically multi-position, multi-sport athletes and often from small schools. I think his floor is that he becomes a standout core special teams player. The ceiling for him is to be a starter at inside linebacker although I think he could begin his career at Rover.”
I wrote this about him when he committed as well.
“I see similarities between Kiser and Drue Tranquill and believe he has an equally high ceiling. Whether he reaches that ceiling is still to be determined, but what Tranquill has done as a former safety turned linebacker is a great blueprint for Kiser to follow.
“A standout track and field athlete as well, he fits the profile of a multi-sport/multi-position 3-star prospect who hasn’t specialized at one spot. His best football is ahead of him and I love this addition to the class for the Irish.”
The only thing I wish I changed with him was my grade. Both he and Marist Liufau were two players I really liked as prospects, but I didn’t have enough conviction to make them 4-stars when they were recruits. Then I saw both in person as freshmen and regretted it.
Props need to be given to 247Sports for being the outlier in the right direction with his grade.
ISD 87
247 92
ESPN 76
Rivals 5.7
Mitchell Evans (5th round)
Evans was a big projection because he mostly played quarterback in high school, but his frame and his ability to run with the football made me a big believer in the type of player he could develop into at Notre Dame. All of the tools were there.
Here’s what I wrote about him when he committed.
“My grade is higher on him because of his ceiling. He could be a monster with the size to be a force in-line and the athleticism to be a beast after the catch.
“At a place like Notre Dame, he won’t be rushed onto the field because of the depth in front of him and he’ll need that time to develop, but if he puts in the work he has all of the tools that project for him to become another NFL draft pick at tight end for the Irish.”
I was also higher on Evans than everyone else in terms of his grade. That was another one that turned out to be a pretty good call.
ISD 92
On3 91
247 88
ESPN 78
Rivals 5.7
Rylie Mills (5th round)
Even though Mills played as a true freshman, it was a bit of a slow burn with him during his career at Notre Dame. He got incrementally better every season and really took a big jump in his final two years, particularly as an interior pass rusher.
He was someone I was very excited about when Notre Dame had first offered, but felt he didn’t make the kind of progress I had been hoping for as a junior and senior. Part of that was likely due to playing injured for some of his senior season.
I actually moved his ranking down over time and dropped him to a 91 after one time having him graded as a 93. However, it seemed obvious to me that he was going to be best suited to play inside at defensive tackle and that was proven correct over time.
This is what I wrote when he committed.
“Seeing him in person, he has a big frame and should be able to carry 290+ at Notre Dame. With a dominant senior season and better use of his hands/arm length, I see Mills projecting to be a quality 3-technique defensive tackle for the Irish with a chance to be an above average pass rusher and a force against the run.”
I think he might have been a day two pick if he hadn’t been injured during the College Football Playoff. He was playing his best ball of his career during the second half of the 2024 season.
ISD 91
247 90
ESPN 83 (141st overall)
Rivals 5.8 (155th overall)
The lesson with someone like Mills is to bet on the traits and it was the same with Kiser and Evans. The lesson with Watts and Morrison is that the film trumps all and they had the film validated having them ranked higher than anyone else.
No one is perfect in evaluation, but with the five homegrown picks that Notre Dame just produced, I think my evaluations on who they could be ended up being pretty accurate.
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