I'm not putting him down as a QB... but he has the benefit of having the best WR core in the Country. I don't know if it's even questionable that he doesn't. It certainly helps.
Notre Dame Football Recruiting
Expanding the Board at QB
Notre Dame has had the good fortune of things falling into place like they wanted them to at quarterback the last three cycles. The board has not been an expansive one in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 recruiting cycles.
They only went after five quarterbacks in the '16 class before flipping Ian Book from his Washington State commitment. In '17 they only sent out three offers with their top initial target being Hunter Johnson. Eventually they moved on to Avery Davis and sent out an offer to Hendon Hooker before Davis committed.
They didn't have to go three deep in '18. They focused on one target and then landed that one target early in the process. They've got a blue chip signal caller in Phil Jurkovec solidly committed to them in this current class and he's been locked up for awhile. That means they are able to focus mostly on the '19 quarterbacks and I'm sure they were hoping at one point to land their top initial target and call it a day again.
That target is JT Daniels, the Matei Dei (California) quarterback that has put up video game numbers in his two seasons as the starter for the powerhouse program out west. The Irish staff offered back when he was a freshman and they've had him on campus a couple of times since then. They definitely did well to get ahead of the game, but since then other programs have been gaining ground with him.
He's taken recent visits to Alabama, and Washington. He's also supposed to be going back to Stanford for a visit in the near future as well. It's pretty clear the Notre Dame staff shouldn't be putting all of their eggs in the Daniels basket. They need to start looking elsewhere at other options and they just sent out offers to two really good ones yesterday.
Offensive coordinator Chip Long is from Alabama and played his college ball at North Alabama so it's not a surprise that he is very familiar with the state. It's not a place Notre Dame targets too often for obvious reasons, but perhaps we may see that change a bit with Long now in South Bend. He certainly isn't afraid to go after an Auburn legacy and proved it by sending out an offer to Nix.
His father Patrick is his high school coach and was a star quarterback for the Tigers under Terry Bowden. He was also a college coach at Georgia Tech under Chan Gailey and Miami under Randy Shannon. None of that would point to the Irish having a great shot at the younger Nix considering he has offers from Auburn, Alabama, and just about every other national power in the south, but we'll see if the Irish can get him on campus and gain some traction.
I'm a big fan of Nix after checking out his film. He's not the most physically imposing kid at 6'1", but he is a heck of an athlete. A true dual-threat with some outstanding burst, he would be a terrific fit in Long's offense.
Some of these quarterbacks already look like robots with their mechanics, which can be a good or bad thing. Nix does not fit into that category and I like it. He has a quick release and can deliver the ball well from different arm angles. He doesn't have a rocket launcher on his shoulder, but shows solid arm strength on intermediate throws.
I love his ability to escape the pocket and his fearlessness with the rush bearing down on him. He'll take a hit to make a play. His deep ball looks not that different than how his Dad threw it and it reminds me a bit of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake with the high arch on the ball to allow his receivers to run under it.
If you put him side by side against Daniels now, then Daniels is probably the better player currently. I'm not sure if that is going to be the case a couple of years from now, though. There's something about Nix and his athleticism that I feel gives him an incredibly high ceiling. He already showed he is an elite prospect on film and at a major camp this off season by beating out 2018 Ohio State commit Emory Jones for Quarterback MVP at The Opening Atlanta.
I gave Nix a grade of 92.
I know most places have Daniels as the top ranked quarterback in the 2019 class, but I actually gave Rattler a higher grade than Daniels. I have the Arizona product as a 94.
He makes some "wow" throws like the one he made just before the 1:00 mark of his sophomore highlights. He can flat out sling it and has an arm that can make every throw asked of him. His mechanics are really tight and I mean that as a compliment. There is very little wasted motion with him, even when he is scrambling and making a play outside of the pocket. I don't know if he has a Brandon Wimbush type of arm, but he can make the same kind of remarkable throws on the move that Wimbush can. There were so many times where I could picture him keeping it on an RPO and delivering a strike down the field.
He's more of a true pocket passer that is capable of moving the chains with his feet than a dual-threat as a runner, but he shows a great feel for the rush to get away from it and put himself in a position to make a play. Although he certainly can zip the ball in there and deliver it accurately when doing so, his touch is impressive too. He knows when to mix in his change-up.
Rattler's offer list is already an impressive one with Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M on there along with the Irish.
We'll see how much the '19 quarterback recruiting board will expand this spring and summer, but this is a really great trio of players to focus on at this point in time. Any one of them would be an absolute homerun pickup if they chose Notre Dame and now that the offer is on the table for Nix and Rattler, the hard work begins to get them on campus this summer.
They only went after five quarterbacks in the '16 class before flipping Ian Book from his Washington State commitment. In '17 they only sent out three offers with their top initial target being Hunter Johnson. Eventually they moved on to Avery Davis and sent out an offer to Hendon Hooker before Davis committed.
They didn't have to go three deep in '18. They focused on one target and then landed that one target early in the process. They've got a blue chip signal caller in Phil Jurkovec solidly committed to them in this current class and he's been locked up for awhile. That means they are able to focus mostly on the '19 quarterbacks and I'm sure they were hoping at one point to land their top initial target and call it a day again.
That target is JT Daniels, the Matei Dei (California) quarterback that has put up video game numbers in his two seasons as the starter for the powerhouse program out west. The Irish staff offered back when he was a freshman and they've had him on campus a couple of times since then. They definitely did well to get ahead of the game, but since then other programs have been gaining ground with him.
He's taken recent visits to Alabama, and Washington. He's also supposed to be going back to Stanford for a visit in the near future as well. It's pretty clear the Notre Dame staff shouldn't be putting all of their eggs in the Daniels basket. They need to start looking elsewhere at other options and they just sent out offers to two really good ones yesterday.
4 star quarterback Bo Nix (Pinson, Alabama)
Offensive coordinator Chip Long is from Alabama and played his college ball at North Alabama so it's not a surprise that he is very familiar with the state. It's not a place Notre Dame targets too often for obvious reasons, but perhaps we may see that change a bit with Long now in South Bend. He certainly isn't afraid to go after an Auburn legacy and proved it by sending out an offer to Nix.
His father Patrick is his high school coach and was a star quarterback for the Tigers under Terry Bowden. He was also a college coach at Georgia Tech under Chan Gailey and Miami under Randy Shannon. None of that would point to the Irish having a great shot at the younger Nix considering he has offers from Auburn, Alabama, and just about every other national power in the south, but we'll see if the Irish can get him on campus and gain some traction.
I'm a big fan of Nix after checking out his film. He's not the most physically imposing kid at 6'1", but he is a heck of an athlete. A true dual-threat with some outstanding burst, he would be a terrific fit in Long's offense.
Some of these quarterbacks already look like robots with their mechanics, which can be a good or bad thing. Nix does not fit into that category and I like it. He has a quick release and can deliver the ball well from different arm angles. He doesn't have a rocket launcher on his shoulder, but shows solid arm strength on intermediate throws.
I love his ability to escape the pocket and his fearlessness with the rush bearing down on him. He'll take a hit to make a play. His deep ball looks not that different than how his Dad threw it and it reminds me a bit of former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake with the high arch on the ball to allow his receivers to run under it.
If you put him side by side against Daniels now, then Daniels is probably the better player currently. I'm not sure if that is going to be the case a couple of years from now, though. There's something about Nix and his athleticism that I feel gives him an incredibly high ceiling. He already showed he is an elite prospect on film and at a major camp this off season by beating out 2018 Ohio State commit Emory Jones for Quarterback MVP at The Opening Atlanta.
I gave Nix a grade of 92.
4 star quarterback Spencer Rattler (Phoenix, Arizona)
I know most places have Daniels as the top ranked quarterback in the 2019 class, but I actually gave Rattler a higher grade than Daniels. I have the Arizona product as a 94.
He makes some "wow" throws like the one he made just before the 1:00 mark of his sophomore highlights. He can flat out sling it and has an arm that can make every throw asked of him. His mechanics are really tight and I mean that as a compliment. There is very little wasted motion with him, even when he is scrambling and making a play outside of the pocket. I don't know if he has a Brandon Wimbush type of arm, but he can make the same kind of remarkable throws on the move that Wimbush can. There were so many times where I could picture him keeping it on an RPO and delivering a strike down the field.
He's more of a true pocket passer that is capable of moving the chains with his feet than a dual-threat as a runner, but he shows a great feel for the rush to get away from it and put himself in a position to make a play. Although he certainly can zip the ball in there and deliver it accurately when doing so, his touch is impressive too. He knows when to mix in his change-up.
Rattler's offer list is already an impressive one with Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M on there along with the Irish.
We'll see how much the '19 quarterback recruiting board will expand this spring and summer, but this is a really great trio of players to focus on at this point in time. Any one of them would be an absolute homerun pickup if they chose Notre Dame and now that the offer is on the table for Nix and Rattler, the hard work begins to get them on campus this summer.
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