2020 Recruiting | What Now?
Rylie Mills’ commitment to Notre Dame gives the Irish nine commitments in the Class of 2020.
The Illinois defensive lineman gives them three pledges on the defensive front, joining defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina and defensive end Alexander Ehrensberger. Mills is the fourth defensive commit in the group, which also includes linebacker Jordan Botelho, who is likely to be more of an edge rusher.
On offense, the Irish have their quarterback in Drew Pyne, a top wide receiver commit in Jordan Johnson and a pair of tight ends in Michael Mayer and Kevin Bauman. Long snapper Alex Peitsch rounds out the current class.
So, what now?
As always the size of Notre Dame’s class will be in flux until the end, but as of now, the Irish are likely to bring in somewhere between 20 and 22 total prospects. With nine on board already, that leaves room for up to 13 more.
As far as defensive line goes, the attention immediately turns to Michigan’s Braiden McGregor. Ohio State had been pushing hard to bring in Mills and McGregor as a duo, but now that’s a pitch only Notre Dame can make. The Irish are in a strong position with McGregor and if they can add him to the unit, they could be done at defensive line. It seems pretty obvious that’s what defensive line coach Mike Elston is hinting at here:
But, Notre Dame could have one of those good problems if California’s Ben Yurosek, who is scheduled for an official next month, also wants to come.
Notre Dame is taking a patient approach to linebacker, where Cody Simon seems like the best bet to join Botelho at this point.
The Irish are being more aggressive in the secondary, where they could bring in three cornerbacks and a pair of safeties.
Clark Phillips, Lovie Jenkins and Landen Bartleson are probably the best bets at corner right now while the Irish are pushing hard for Lathan Ransom, Jordan Morant, Chris Thompson and Kristian Story at safety.
Over on the offensive side of the ball, running back Chris Tyree is garnering most of the headlines at this point and for good reason. The Irish appear well-positioned with the five-star running back out of Virginia and he would immediately become one of the class headliners if they were able to land him. Notre Dame has talked about potentially pairing Tyree with a back like Tirek Murphy Jr. or Cullen Coleman, who also have high interest. But if the Irish are only able to get Tyree, that’d still be a home run at the position.
The other offensive target receiving a ton of interest right now is Tosh Baker. If the Irish were able to land him as their first offensive line commit, it would be huge and there’s a chance that could happen relatively soon. Beyond Baker, Notre Dame is still after Zak Zinter, Reece Atteberry, Geirean Hatchett and Andrew Gentry, a Colorado target who plans on taking a mission, so his impact on the numbers wouldn’t be the same as the others. Look for three total, maybe two.
They’re done at tight end and quarterback, but are still looking for some wideouts to pair with Johnson. The Irish may have some decisions to make as to how many they want to add and could be as many as three and possibly as few as one more. They’re in strong shape with guys like Michael Redding, Xavier Watts, Jalen McMillan and AJ Henning. It’d be hard to turn any of those guys away.