Notre Dame Adds Commitment from Another Top CB Target
Notre Dame added another commitment for the class of 2021 on Saturday with another top cornerback target. This time it’s Ryan Barnes, a 3-star cornerback with the offer list of a much more highly touted prospect.
100% Committed…Blessed, Honored & Thankful pic.twitter.com/9ZXf3nQORt
— Ryan “Bo” Barnes (@Bo11Ryan) June 6, 2020
On top of an offer from Notre Dame, the following program all offered Barnes: Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, and Virginia Tech. That’s not the kind of offer list a 3-star prospect collects.
That offer list makes it easy to see why new Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens made Barnes one of his top priorities after joining the staff earlier this year and extending an offer to Barnes in March.
On paper, Barnes is actually the lowest-rated commitment in the class, but again, that offer list does not suggest his overall rating of 585th best prospect in the country in the 247Sports is very accurate. Corners with SEC offers and offers from Oklahoma and Clemson aren’t usually sneaking just inside the top 600. Look for that ranking to improve dramatically before the final 247 rankings are released for the class of 2021.
At 6’2″, 180 lbs; Barnes fits the profile Notre Dame looks for at corner – tall and lanky. Mickens has had success in the past developing tall corners as well.
Ryan Barnes is the second cornerback that Notre Dame’s added to the 2021 class in the last few months. Philip Riley committed to Notre Dame last month. Riley, like Barnes, was one of Mickens’s top targets. The duo is a reversal of Notre Dame’s recent recruiting efforts at the position. Former cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght struggled landing elite corners during his time at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame has three total commitments in the secondary now. In addition to the corner duo of Barnes and Riley, Notre Dame locked up a commitment from safety Justin Walters earlier this year as well. If Notre Dame were to add safety prospect Kaleb Edwards, they’d round out their secondary class hitting on all of their top targets.
In all, Notre Dame has 11 commitments for 2021.
In the last recruiting cycle, Notre Dame landed numbers at corner, but ended up taking some chances on prospects that were more developmental. That isn’t the case this year with Barnes and Riley.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Dare I say it…? Freeman for next ND Head Coach?
When’s the ‘round’ guy’s contract up?
I think this years team hgt as a chance to make the playoffs. Experience at QB depth at RB exponent the O-line
And some fast receivers. Can our defense be elite? Thats the key!
I really like Mickens. Todd Lyght was a very good coach but not a really good to great recruiter. I think Mickins will prove to b e both a great coach and recruiter. I like a lot of the assistant coaching hires staff reorganization Balis etc. This year is going to tell us a lot about Quinn Alexander McNulty tommy. Kelly has a lot of faith in Reese. I just hope it was the right hire. To mean all the pieces are there for a 40 points plus a game offense. If the offense doesn’t produce especially in the biggest games Wiscosin, Clemson, USC etc. Then Kelly needs to clean house on the offensive side.