Notre Dame Football Recruiting on the Rise

Tevon Coney is one of several 4-star recruits to commit to the Irish since the start of the 2014 season.   (Photo: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports)
Tevon Coney is one of several 4-star recruits to commit to the Irish since the start of the 2014 season. (Photo: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports)

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football and its importance cannot be overstated.  Alabama’s dominance on the gridiron over the past several years goes hand-in-hand with its accomplishments on the recruiting trail, with the Crimson Tide having finished with the top-rated recruiting class four years in a row – and they are currently on pace to make it five – according to Rivals.com’s class rankings.  Many factors go into a successful recruiting class, such as academics, location, playing time and tradition.  But no factor – as the Florida Gators’ current class ranking of No. 68, which is seven spots lower than Florida Atlantic’s current ranking of No. 61, highlights – is more important than winning.  And Notre Dame’s current No. 7 class ranking is directly related to this season’s success on the field, which is a result of Notre Dame’s No. 3 recruiting class ranking in 2013, the year Notre Dame posted an undefeated regular season.

Rivals 5-star running back Greg Bryant was such a late entrant onto Notre Dame’s recruiting radar in 2012 that the talented Florida native didn’t even take his official visit to South Bend until December during Notre Dame’s sports banquet.  It was all the evidence Bryant would need, and he committed shortly after his official.  Likewise, currently rising 2014 star Tarean Folston did not commit to Notre Dame until the week of the Under Amour All-America Game, a few short weeks prior to National Signing Day.  The same could be said of 5-star safety Max Redfield, a former USC commit that ultimately flipped to Notre Dame shortly before signing day.

Altogether, the Fighting Irish managed to sign two 5-star players late in the recruiting season due to a successful 2012 campaign, and were also able to flip two recruits from USC and Texas (Durham Smythe).  Notre Dame’s 6-1 record in 2014, including the photo finish against defending national champion, Florida State, has begun to pay similar dividends.

One day after defeating Stanford in dramatic fashion, Notre Dame secured the commitment of 4-star offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer of Cincinnati, OH, besting Ohio State for his services.  Three days after Kraemer offered his pledge, Rivals 4-star quarterback and Penn State commitment Brandon Wimbush – who was also in attendance for the Stanford contest – flipped to the Irish.  Wimbush, an Elite 11 quarterback, is the highest rated Notre Dame recruit in the class of 2015 and is the second recruit head coach Brian Kelly has taken from Penn State (the first being 4-star linebacker, Josh Barajas, who was recently named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, an award given to the nation’s top high school linebacker).

Two days before Notre Dame’s undefeated showdown with Florida State, 4-star linebacker Asmar Bilal committed.  Bilal had whittled his choices down to Notre Dame and Michigan, and given the trajectory of both programs, it came as no surprise South Bend was his ultimate destination.  One week after Bilal’s decision, and five days after the clash with Florida State, 4-star linebacker Tevon Coney ended his recruitment with a selection of Notre Dame.  The Florida native – who held offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State – is a lifelong Florida Gators fan and admitted the coaching instability in Gainesville played a role in his decision to attend Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly landed four 4-star recruits in a span of 16 days, and each one was a toss-up.  Notre Dame’s 31-0 smack down of Michigan surely caught Bilal’s attention, just as Coney chose the Fighting Irish over his childhood dream school due to Florida’s coaching uncertainty and 3-3 record.  Brandon Wimbush watched the success and notoriety that Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson has attained and thought the opportunity was too good to pass up, flipping from Penn State to Notre Dame.  With a few roster spots in the class of 2015 still open, Kelly is on the hunt for more.

Rivals 4-star linebacker and current Michigan commitment Darrin Kirkland Jr. was on Notre Dame’s campus to witness the Stanford game, and left impressed.   Florida State safety commitment Calvin Brewton also visited for the Stanford game – and visited Tallahassee for Notre Dame’s close battle with FSU – and liked what he saw in both instances.  Alabama 4-star safety Ronnie Harrison announced his intention to visit for Notre Dame’s November matchup against Louisville, and 5-star Crimson Tide commitment Minkah Fitzpatrick, the high school teammate of Notre Dame commit Brandon Wimbush, has expressed interest in visiting South Bend.

A lot of time remains before national signing day in 2015, leaving plenty of different paths for Notre Dame’s recruiting class to ultimately take.  But if current trends continue, no matter what path is taken, all point toward Notre Dame emerging as a national power in recruiting.

Scott Janssen is a blogger for the Huffington Post and has authored several nationally-featured articles, including an appearance on MSNBC as a sports contributor.  He talks football 24 hours a day, much to chagrin of his wife and those around him.  Scott can be reached at [email protected].

You may also like

36 Comments

  1. There is another feature in the Kelly regime recruiting. They are deliberate and organized. What is remarkable about the current roster
    is that it has the best balance across all the positions and sensible
    spread among the classes in each position. The result is that there are few holes in the roster, and the need for panicked recruiting is nearly gone.

    Now, after the 2012 season, they realized they needed to upgrade and size up the Offensive line, so they brought in five with Elmer’s Class and five with Nelson’s class, but that will be back at three for quite a while.

    It’s college football and random occurences happen. What looked like a stacked depth chart at safety suddenly vaporized. (it’s college football, this is the world we live in and these are the hands we are given) Then the 5th year captain Collinsworth goes down 48 hours before Rice, then the redshirt junior, Eilar Hardy gets involved in the contretemps and can’t play, then Nicky baratti, a redshirt soph who showed flashes as a true frosh, has what appears to be a career-ending injury.. Ever was it thus, and it will happen in the future.

    But I have never seen a Notre Dame roster so balanced horizontally across the positions, and so balanced vertically down the classes.

    1. Big-D,

      Question….

      If 4 star linebacker recruit Tevon Coney signs with the Irish and is then placed as the strong side linebacker, would that make him a Coney Dog?

      I relish your reply.

  2. I dont think Condoleezza is the problem but ND haters like Pat Haden and
    Tyrone Willingham sure are. There is bound to be other ND haters in the
    group.

    1. Maybe. And there are probably people on the committee who don’t like Florida State, Alabama, Oregon etc. too. Since there is nothing whatsoever we can do about deep biases and feelings, ND needs obviously to win out and do so convincingly. The SEC will cannabalize itself for the most part because the top SEC teams are still playing eachother. Gurley will be back with Georgia for the Auburn game.

      If ND wins out they will be all but impossible to ignore given multiple optics. One of those major optics is MONEY TO BE MADE. The NCAA and ND are businesses and business is good.

  3. 2014 NCAA Football Playoff Committee:
    Jeff Long (chairman) Arkansas athletic director SEC
    Barry Alvarez Wisconsin athletic director Big Ten
    Michael C. Gould Former Air Force Academy superintendent
    Pat Haden USC athletic director Pac-12
    Tom Jernstedt Former NCAA executive vice president
    Oliver Luck West Virginia athletic director Big 12
    Archie Manning Former NFL and Ole Miss quarterback (resigned due to health issues)
    Tom Osborne Former Nebraska coach and athletic director Big Ten
    Dan Radakovich Clemson athletic director ACC
    Condoleezza Rice Former U.S. Secretary of State and Stanford provost
    Mike Tranghese Former Big East commissioner
    Steve Wieberg Former USA Today reporter
    Tyrone Willingham Former Stanford/Notre Dame/Washington coach

    For those of you keeping score…
    SEC= 1
    PAC 12 = 3 (Included Rice and Willingham here)
    Big Ten = 2
    Big 12 = 1
    Mountain West = 1
    ACC = 1
    Others = 3

    But ND fans can take comfort in the following statement released by
    Jeff Long, Selection Committee chairman…. “We don’t analyze it by conference,”

    Thanks Jeff…. I was about to call bullshit on how we suddenly now sit behind TCU, Michigan St, and Kansas St. but as long as it isn’t done by conference, I guess I’m good with it.

    College Football Playoff Rankings (First)
    RK TEAM RECORD
    1 Mississippi State 7-0
    2 Florida State 7-0
    3 Auburn 6-1
    4 Ole Miss 7-1
    5 Oregon 7-1
    6 Alabama 7-1
    7 TCU 6-1
    8 Michigan State 7-1
    9 Kansas State 6-1
    10 Notre Dame 6-1
    11 Georgia 6-1
    12 Arizona

    1. Why not put Georgia ahead of ND just for good measure. I’m sure UGA fans were disappointed they weren’t part of the fun of jumping ahead of ND.

    2. Condi Rice also got her Masters degree from Notre Dame. This is all muchado about absolutely nothing. ND controls its onw destiny by winning out and doing so convincingly. While I don’t agree that TCU or Michigan State should be ahead of us at this point, it won’t keep me up at night. In the first half of the season, ND has had some major hiccups, namely turning the ball over habitually and keeping weak teams in the game.

      At team’s “total body of work” is what counts, not just controverial losses at FSU.

      1. Exactly. The hysteria and conspiracy theories on here are laughable. Who cares what these rankings say. It’s like worrying about who’s winning a game 3 minutes into the first quarter. All they have to do is win out. 11-1 and you are in the top 4 period end of discussion. I’m not saying that will be easy by any means. But to get all hot and bothered and complain about some sort of ND bias is ridiculous. Face it, the most impressive thing ND has done this year is lose to FSU on a controversial call.

        It’s way too early, these things always work themselves out. Winning is all that matters.

      2. Notre Dame’s playoff hopes were killed by Condoleeza Rice on the grassy knoll, with the help of the CIA. Obviously.

  4. Being number 7 is ok but there is no reason why Notre Dame can’t be in the top 5 in recruiting every single year and more important do it the right way the NOTRE DAME WAY. Rivals has the Irish at 7 but ESPN has them at 12 or 13 if I am not mistaken. The key is stringing together 4-5 seasons like this year because in the past Notre Dame has not been able to do that. The Irish need to close this class out strong and that means getting SoSo and St. Brown and hopefully another solid S recruit.

    Following up 2012 we fell back and we saw that affect recruiting but if you give Brian Kelly his type of QB he will win and win at a elite level as he has showed here in South Bend and Cincinnati and even going back to his Grand Valley State days.

    Starting so many young players this year will allow this program to finally build depth at critical positions. Quarterback and offensive line has talent and depth but in VanGorders defense he needs pass rushers and LB who can blitz and cover and I believe that Notre Dame has the best LB class in the country highlighted by MLB Tevon Coney but Kelly so far has not been able to land that elite pass rusher that opposing offenses have to worry about on every single play.

    2016 could prove to be the best team Kelly has ever had at Nore Dame with so many starters returning and hopefully that success will lead to Notre Dame bringing in Brian Kelly’s best recruiting class that Kelly has ever had at Notre Dame as well. That will begin and end with Malik Henry who is a must get for Kelly and his coaches in the same manner as a Jaylon Smith a couple of seasons back. Henry will be a superstar college QB that you can build your program around and your recruiting class around as well.

    1. With rankings like these, further proof of her and the committee misusing info as weapons for math disruption . . .
      it doesn’t add up!

  5. Bob Stoops says the surprising part of the CFP rankings is how low Notre Dame is ranked. I’m sure most everyone in entire country thinks that except those who voted, of course.

      1. The other “Ron”, who agrees with Jeff “100%” that “ND is right where they belong.”

  6. Notre Dame is right where they belong. They lost to Florida state because of what they didnt do in the first half of that game. Score Points. Had they converted one of those 4th and 1 plays and got just three points out of it the marginal call at the end of the game would not of come into play. In 2012 ND needed help from Oregon and K-state and got it late in the season when both teams stumbled. Every team ahead of ND has tough games yet to play. It is far from over.

    1. Great post Jeff. Very sane amid the pandemonium on this board. As my good friend Aaron Rodgers said R E L A X.

  7. WOW! Number 10 in the playoff rankings. Even if you hate us, I would think you would rank us higher for the freakin ratings! MSU, KSU, and TCU ahead of us. Three teams we are superior to.

    1. And exactly how are we superior to those teams? Nobody gives a crap how popular we are or we’re on national tv every week. We’ve beaten one good team, Stanford.

      1. Because we beat MSU easily even when we don’t have a QB, and TCU gave up 61 points to Baylor, if you give up 61 points to anyone, you suck. And finally, if you think ratings don’t matter to anyone, well what can I say. I think this game is about money. But maybe I am naive.

      2. “Because we beat MSU easily even when we don’t have a QB”. What on God’s green earth are you talking about son? We did not play Michigan State this year and yes I do believe we have a QB. Put the pipe down.

    2. So much for quality “losses” matter.
      And other than Az.St., who’s only #14, we don’t have any “quality” win opportunities left. Louisville is a wash- they win Thursday, and the theft at FSU bites us again; if Louisville loses Thursday, they’ll be gone as a top opponent for us. Our best chance was to be rated ahead of Mich.St., TCU, and KSU. And even if those above us fall, the Georgias and Baylors et.al. will leap over us, including whomever else wins in the Big 12 or SEC below us will probably be placed above us.
      Pressure’s off- ND isn’t going to the final four so just go out and win 10 or 11, kick ass in your bowl game, and reload and return with an attitude.
      With ND, win ’em all or the haters, including those with whistles and striped shirts, will find a way to limit/diminish whatever you do.
      So much for-just ignore that FSU call and win out and you’ll get there! Just win, Irish- but not by less than two scores. Because if the ACC refs won’t target you, the 13 member committee will. No surprise to me; I’ve been watching ND play for years. Some things never change . . .
      As long as there’s only four,
      ND with ANY loss will be excluded evermore.

      1. Can fans find out how each of the 13 members ranked their top 25? I’d love to see where Ty placed us.

      2. Never mind- just found out:
        1) There’s 12 members
        2) Secret ballot. Why a secret ballot? Aren’t there four ADs among the committee members ? Why wouldn’t the committee members post their individual ballots? What does a secret ballot protect?Doesn’t that encourage bias if it exists?

    1. Man there ain’t never been truer words spoken…. We was robbed of that win…. The Irish will be a power house in the coming seasons and a lot has to do with Brian Kelly.. Couldn’t ask for a better coach…. No where to go but up… HERE COME THE IRISH !!!!!!!,!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button