Aidan Keanaaina is my NINTH favorite player in this class and I think he is going to start at NT and be a great player. It is only May. This early haul is really impressive.
i dont know if we covered it here yet but currenty we have: - 11 commits from 11 different states/territories/countries (BMcG would make this 12) - The top commit in 6 states/countries - Thats even without anyone from Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, the most significant parts of the "home base" or anyone from Georgia, Texas, Florida or California. Those combined states usually are about half the class of ND
Coach D's update big board ranking for commits Spoiler Notre Dame has put together back-to-back strong recruiting classes, and now it is looking to take things to the next level with the 2020 class. Filling up so early with the 2019 class put the Irish staff in position to get off to a fast start, and it certainly did so, landing five commitments by February. How effectively the staff can build on the strong early foundation will determine if Notre Dame can put together a truly elite class. Notre Dame goes into this class not facing many needs from a numbers standpoint. Rather, the roster is strong from a depth standpoint, and now the staff must focus on adding more impact talent to the roster, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The list above comes from the grades each player received based on his projection from junior film plus his upside grade. Each player is graded out on eight different position specific categories plus an upside grade. POS - Refers to the position the player was recruited to play at Notre Dame. BGI - Refers to the current ranking based on skills and production up to this point. UPSIDE - Refers to the potential the player possesses if he taps into his full potential. RANGE - Refers to the approximate range I believe each player would rank if my grade for him was projected onto a national ranking. Below is a breakdown of each player. 1. CHRIS TYREE, RB 60 NATIONAL 2 STATE 1 POSITION CHRIS TYREE RANK 5.9 5'10" | 185 LBS | APB THOMAS DALE CHESTER, VA CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 5/23/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.5 (Top 50 caliber prospect) Upside Grade: 5.0 Tyree gives Notre Dame something it hasn't had at running back for a very long time, and that is truly elite speed. There have been players that can run (Josh Adams, CJ Prosise, Dexter Williams), but none that were on the level of Tyree, who is one of the fastest players in the entire nation. Tyree is more than just a track star and his track speed translates to the football field with ease. Just focusing on Tyree's speed can cause one to miss a lot of the other traits he brings to the position. Tyree's speed is aided by the fact he combines patience with decisiveness, which means he does a good job allowing his blocks to set up, and once he sees a crease he explodes vertically and into the hole. Tyree is a smart runner that makes good decisions and shows excellent second level anticipation. Tyree needs work as a route runner, but in a traditional running back role he's a major weapon in the pass game. Anytime the Thomas Dale star gets in space he's a threat to score. He shows the elusiveness to make plays with the ball on check downs and on quick perimeter screens. On traditional screens if he gets a chance to gain speed it's going to be a home run. Despite his lack of size, Tyree shows good toughness on the football field. He's not a 20+ carry per game guy and he's not going to spend all game running people over, but Tyree can make people miss, he's willing to hammer between the tackles and he's a more than willing blocker. Tyree is also a standout cornerback that has 140 career tackles. He really is the total package at running back. Junior Season Highlights 2. JORDAN JOHNSON, WR 59 NATIONAL 1 STATE 13 POSITION JORDAN JOHNSON RANK 5.9 6'2" | 182 LBS | WR DE SMET ST. LOUIS, MO CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 4/6/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.5 (Top 50 caliber prospect) Upside Grade: 5.0 The Spartans star finished the 2018 season with 28 receptions for 721 yards and nine touchdowns. His 25.8 yards per catch average as a junior showed a player with big-play ability, and the film backs that up. Johnson has enough length to play any receiver position in the Irish offense. Despite being listed just above 180 pounds, Johnson is a physical football player when he wants to be. Athletically there is a lot to like about Johnson’s game. Johnson shows a strong burst off the line and his second gear is outstanding. Johnson has impressive foot quickness and agility, which combines nicely with his balance and body control to give him a borderline elite athletic grade. He flashes top-level suddenness, which plays into his upside grade. Johnson has the trifecta of talent needed for an impact wide receiver. He has size, he’s a top-notch athlete and his pass catching skills are excellent. Johnson has strong hands, which allows him to make difficult catches, especially down the field. Johnson attacks the football well once he gets out of routes and he extends his hands well to the football. Johnson is a vertical threat due to his speed and athletic skills, but just as important he tracks the deep ball extremely well, which allows him to maximize his speed when the ball is in the air. Everything he does when he attacks the football is efficient and fast, which makes it extremely hard for defenders to play his eyes, hands or body when he has a step on them. 2018 Junior Season Highlights 3. TOSH BAKER, OT 51 NATIONAL 2 STATE 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 9 POSITION TOSH BAKER RANK 6.0 6'8" | 275 LBS | OT PINNACLE PHOENIX, AZ CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 5/8/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 (Top 100 caliber prospect) Upside Grade: 5.0 Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn got on Baker before the Pinnacle blocker became a national recruit, and it paid off in a big way for the Irish. Right now Baker is far from a finished product, but from an upside standpoint he has as much ability as any offensive tackle to sign with Notre Dame during the Brian Kelly era. At 6-8 and 275 pounds, Baker has truly elite size potential. He’s still on the thin side, and with him playing basketball that will continue to be the case while he’s in high school, and I think that’s a good thing. Baker must make sure he doesn’t put on too much weight too soon, which would likely result in him slowing down. If he lets it happen naturally he’s going to blow up and be well over 310 pounds and still be athletic. You can see Baker’s athleticism when he pass blocks, and you can see it on the basketball court, where he is the starting center for the Pinnacle state championship squad. He’s a nimble big man with good lateral quickness, good change of direction skills and he’s quicker than he looks. His length allows him to dominate in pass pro at the prep level, which we saw last year when he completely shut down four-star defensive end Bralen Trice, who signed with Washington. Baker won’t ever be a dominant run blocker like Mike McGlinchey was, but with increased strength, better pad level and more maturity as a player he could certainly be every bit as good as Ronnie Stanley was in this regard. But Baker also has Stanley’s elite pass blocking potential. If he can tap into that at the next level, Baker could end up as the best player in this class, which is saying something. Junior Season Highlights 4. MICHAEL MAYER, TE 126 NATIONAL 2 STATE 3 POSITION MICHAEL MAYER RANK 5.9 6'5" | 215 LBS | TE COVINGTON CATHOLIC ALEXANDRIA, KY CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 7/1/2018 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 (Top 100 caliber prospect) Upside Grade: 5.0 Mayer is a unique athlete with tremendous upside. In his last two seasons at Covington Catholic, Mayer has been named an all-state wide receiver, defensive end and linebacker. Mayer has excellent size and already knows how to use it as a weapon as both an offensive and defensive player. He could easily be a Power 5 caliber defensive end if he wanted to play defense, but his upside as a tight end is truly special. Despite his size (he's closer to 240 pounds than 215 pounds), Mayer is a nimble athlete with top-notch long speed. That long speed makes him a deep threat at the prep level, and if he can make some technical adjustments and improve his initial start his ability to work down the field will take off. Mayer thrives against the zone, showing the ability to work himself free and find spots spots. He has the athleticism to become a top-notch route runner in time, and the better his routes improve the harder he'll be to defend. Although his size and athleticism are impressive, it is his pass catching ability that makes him such a dynamic player and top prospect. Mayer's length, balance and flexibility give him a tremendous catching radius. His ability to easily flip his hips and snatch poorly thrown balls out of the air is elite. Mayer attacks the ball effectively on the intermediate throws and tracks the deep ball well. Mayer is a competitive blocker that gets after it in the run game, and he's just now starting to fill out his frame. He plays with good pad level and keeps a good base when engaged. He literally has everything you want in an elite tight end. He has size, length, strength, athleticism, blocking skills and top pass catching ability. The scary thing is he's not even close to tapping into his full potential. Junior Season Highlights 5. RYLIE MILLS, DE 155 NATIONAL 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 3 STATE 10 POSITION RYLIE MILLS RANK 5.8 6'5" | 270 LBS | SDE LAKE FOREST LAKE FOREST, IL CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 5/6/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 Upside Grade: 4.5 Mills has been high on the board for Notre Dame for over a year, and defensive line coach Mike Elston has worked hard to add Mills to the class. A versatile defender that could thrive in a number of alignments, Mills brings the size/strength/athleticism combination that Notre Dame wants to add more of to its defense. Beating out Ohio State and Wisconsin for his commitment was significant for the Irish staff. Mills plays outside and inside for Lake Forest, and he could get his start at end for Notre Dame. Mills projects as a more athletic version of Jay Hayes as a strongside end, where he has the power and length to set the edge at a high level, and he's athletic enough to be a factor off the edge against the pass. Notre Dame could easily keep Mills around the 270-pound range he currently checks in at, streamline his body and allow him to develop into a potentially dominant edge run defender. Should Mills be allowed to keep filling out his frame he could easily slide inside, where he projects to have a game similar to former Notre Dame All-American Jerry Tillery. While his game projects best as a run defender at end, Mills could be a potential difference maker as a pass rusher inside while still having the disruptive potential against the run. At the very least, Mills could become an inside pass rusher in nickel packages should Notre Dame choose to keep him on the edge on base downs. That kind of versatility only adds to Mills' recruiting profile. It's not easy to find a player that has the skills to be an impact player both outside and inside of a four-down defense. It also makes it easier for him to find a home much faster than he would if he was pigeon-holed into one position. Picking up the Lake Forest defender was a major boost to the 2020 class along the line and as a whole. Junior Season Highlights 6. JORDAN BOTELHO, DE (Drop) - NATIONAL 1 STATE 24 POSITION JORDAN BOTELHO RANK 5.8 6'3" | 230 LBS | OLB ST. LOUIS HONOLULU, HI CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 4/18/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 Upside Grade: 4.5 The St. Louis standout is a dominant pass rusher at the prep level, and he also has experience dropping into coverage, two very important traits for a drop. The 230-pound standout is a physical defender that plays with an excellent motor. He shows a good burst off the line and top-notch agility and balance, traits that should allow him to develop a strong pass rush repertoire in college. Right now he mostly gets by on speed, strength and a nice rip move, but his game will really explode once he expands his bag of tricks. He’ll need to add some weight, but Botelho has the frame for the position and won’t need to get too big, as we saw with Julian Okwara the last couple of seasons. The reason is he’s already a powerful defender that plays with good pad level, a strong base and shows the ability to take on blocks. He can anchor when setting the edge and he shows a knack for quick block destruction. Botelho is a rangy athlete that ran a 4.2 in the pro shuttle as a sophomore, which is outstanding for a player his size. You can see that quickness on film, which combines with good speed and above-average length to make him a rangy defender. Once he moves exclusively to the boundary (he plays a lot to the field in high school) his athleticism will play up even more. While he doesn’t have an extensive coverage background, he isn’t foreign to it either. He picked off two passes last season and shows the ability to quickly get into drops, to read the quarterback and to jump quick routes. His size, foot quickness, loose hips, balance and ability to quickly close on the football also project well to the Mike linebacker position. From an athletic standpoint I could absolutely see Botelho inside as well, and his physicality would play up quite well at the position as well. That positional flexibility only adds to his value as a recruit. Junior Season Highlights 7. DREW PYNE, QB 72 NATIONAL 1 STATE 5 POSITION DREW PYNE RANK 5.9 6'1" | 175 LBS | PRO QB NEW CANAAN NEW CANAAN, CT CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 4/16/2018 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 Upside Grade: 4.5 Pyne is an experienced and highly productive quarterback that fits what offensive coordinator Chip Long wants in a quarterback. During his three-year starting career, Pyne has passed for 7,304 yards and 81 touchdowns while adding 923 rushing yards and 12 more scores on the ground. Lacking ideal size, Pyne has the other tools that allow him to thrive as a passer. The New Canaan standout has an extremely quick, compact release that is easily repeatable. Pyne shows a good feel for the pass game, making good reads for such a young player and a strong feel for ball placement. All of these skills make him an accurate quarterback, and there is still room for him to enhance this part of his game. At times he doesn't always show the timing I'd like and his anticipation on routes working over the middle could use work, but these are expected for a young player. Pyne doesn't have the big-time power arm that you usually see from top-ranked quarterbacks. The ball doesn't explode out of his hand, and right now he can't make the far-field throws as easily as some of the bigger, stronger-armed quarterbacks in his class. But his body is still developing and he has a lot more room for growth and added strength than the players with stronger arms. There is room for his arm to continue to get stronger, especially as he develops his lower body more. Getting the ball out so quickly helps Pyne overcome some of that lack of power. The more his timing improves the better this becomes. Combine that with expected gains in size and strength, and I anticipate arm strength not being an issue for Pyne by the time he is ready to compete for the starting spot at Notre Dame. Junior Season Highlights 8. KEVIN BAUMAN, TE 111 NATIONAL 0" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 10px; width: 7px; background: url("https://cdn.rivals.com/production/a...bfb264f545034d3f8a342e9632778ca65a3af8278.svg") left center no-repeat; margin-bottom: 3px;"> 2 STATE 2 POSITION KEVIN BAUMAN RANK 5.9 6'5" | 225 LBS | TE RED BANK CATHOLIC RED BANK, NJ CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 6/13/2018 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 Upside Grade: 4.5 There is a lot to like about Bauman's game, and he's not even close to being as good as he's capable of becoming. The first thing that stands out about Bauman is his size. He has throwback size, possessing top-level length and a thick frame. He should be an easy 250-plus pounds when it's all said and done. Bauman has long arms and uses his length in the pass game to give his quarterback a big catch radius. Bauman gets off the line really well and shows good downfield speed. He gets to top speed in a hurry and accelerates well, which allows him to separate when working vertical routes and across the field. Bauman is a good route runner that shows the foot quickness and hip flexibility to accelerate out of his breaks, and his ability to accelerate into open areas is impressive. Bauman really shows a natural feel for working open as both a route runner vs. man coverage and to find open spots against the zone. Bauman has excellent hands and ball skills. He catches the ball cleanly, shows good extension and he tracks the deep ball well. The Red Bank Catholic standout attacks the ball well and shows top-notch concentration when having to catch the ball in traffic. Bauman has good strength for a young player, especially with his upper body, but he doesn't use it as effectively as he needs to in the run game. You see his strength on defense, but on offense he has to become a more physical blocker. Bauman has to improve his pad level and strike more effectively in the run game. He doesn't grade out very well in the run game now, but the tools are there for him to excellent down the road if he's willing to work and become more forceful as a blocker. Junior Season Highlights 9. AIDAN KEANAAINA, DT - NATIONAL 2 STATE 19 POSITION AIDAN KEANAAINA RANK 5.8 6'3" | 305 LBS | DT MULLEN BRIGHTON, CO CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 2/13/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 4.0 Upside Grade: 4.5 Keanaaina fills a major need for Notre Dame in the 2020 class. The Irish have done quite well recruiting defensive tackles in recent seasons, but landing a big, thick, run-stopping nose tackle was something the depth chart needed to pair with 2019 signee Jacob Lacey . Keanaaina is that kind of player. Listed at just 285 pounds, Keanaaina is likely closer to 300-plus pounds, and his body has been completely reshaped the last year, with him working off some bad upper body weight. The Mullen standout is a power player first and foremost. He has a thick, squatty build with a powerful lower body. When he keeps his base and anchors, Keanaaina is hard to move, and he is able to take on double teams and hold his ground. When he gets moving forward he's a bull, possessing the power to push his way into the backfield. Keanaaina has strong hands, and his ability to lock blockers out and keep them off his body is quite impressive for such a young player. Obviously Keanaaina needs more technical work, as all young players do, but he's advanced for his age. He understands the important aspects of playing high-level line play no defense: hand play, base, leverage, moving his feet. With even more work in the weight room and continued development of his hand speed and technique, Keanaaina is going to become an even more disruptive player. At this point he's a run defender first and foremost, and that's what Notre Dame needs, but Keanaaina doesn't grade out this well just because he can hold his ground and eat up double teams. He projects to be a more disruptive nose tackle than what Notre Dame had in 2018. His ability to disengage and close on the ball is impressive, and he shows a nice burst off the line, which combines with his good pad level to allow Keanaaina to push his way into the backfield. It also allows him to collapse the middle of the pocket as a pass rusher. Junior Season Highlights 10. ALEXANDER EHRENSBERGER, DE - NATIONAL - STATE - POSITION ALEXANDER EHRENSBERGER RANK 5.6 6'7" | 235 LBS | SDE FRYEBURG ACADEMY DUSSELDORF (GER), CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 1/31/2019 NOTRE DAME BGI Grade: 3.5 Upside Grade: 4.5 Ehrensberger's body and game exploded over the last year. He is listed at 6-7 and 225 pounds, but there is still a significant amount of growth potential left in his body, which is why Ehrensberger projects as a strongside end in the Notre Dame defense. The German end has a lot to learn in regards to technique and fundamentals, but you can see on his highlight clip that he knows how important hand play and pad level are to his game. With time in a college strength program and with Elston's tutelage from a fundamentals standpoint he should become a powerful all-around player on the strongside. Ehrenberger shows an impressive burst off the edge. He comes off low, quickly gets into the backfield and is disruptive as a pass rusher and run blocker. The motor he plays with on the backside is impressive, and his fast/strong hands allow him to dominate his club league in Germany. He shows a natural feel on the edge against the pass, which includes the ability to rush the quarterback and read quick throws, which allow him to use his length to be disruptive. At this point Ehrenberger is still on the raw side both physically and from a technique standpoint, 2018 Season Highlights NR. ALEX PEITSCH, LS - NATIONAL - STATE - POSITION ALEX PEITSCH RANK N/A 6'2" | 220 LBS | ATH ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE HIGH WASHINGTON, DC CLASS OF 2020 VERBAL COMMIT 4/24/2019 NOTRE DAME Peitsch has impressive film, but I would prefer to allow Kohl's Kicking - the foremost authority on special teams - to break down his game. "Peitsch has put himself in a league of his own and is truly one of the most impressive snappers we have ever seen. He snaps a consistent ball that is unmatched by anyone else in the country. Peitsch recently competed against the best 2020 snappers at our Underclassman Challenge and was unbeaten. Through all of the Kohl's National Ranking Camps, Peitsch has finished with the top overall charting score for all ages. He has a great frame and has shown the ability to cover down field. Peitsch is one of the best high school snappers Kohl's has ever seen and will be a day one starter for any program in America." - Kohl's Kicking
What's crazy is that Coach D has Botelho #6 on his list and I can't even blame him My personal ranking based on who has the biggest impact while at ND - in parenthesis is where I would rank their talent level 1 - Baker (5*) 2 - Botelho (5*) 3 - Tyree (5*) 4 - Jordan Johnson (top 50 but he is moving up for me...basically borderline 5*) 5 - Mayer (top 50) 6 - Mills (top 100) 7 - Pyne (top 125) 8 - AK (top 200) 9 - Bauman (top 200) 10 - Big German (unknown) 11- LS
The only part of this class that worries me is CB recruiting. Land Phillips and all those worries go away, but other than him every corner we are in on is a developmental prospect and we need someone who can step in right away
Corner needs to come from within Expecting secondary players to emerge as freshmen is pretty hard and rare
I sort of agree with both of these at the same time. With the way the roster is shaping up there need to be at least 2 startable guys between griffith bracy wallace and rutherford in 2020. Id love for a frosh to at least be able to bring what bracy brought
I hope KJ Wallace - small but quick and shifty - and Rutherford - big and fast but incredibly raw - develop very quickly I could see KJ Wallace as a legit Nickel this year if absolutely needed Bracy really needs to add 10 lbs and maintain his athleticism
and UofmUpdates247 @UofmUpdates247 18 min.18 minuten geleden Meer So lots of people think Braiden McGregor will commit to ND over Michigan tonight around 7pm. Heard lots of ND smoke the last couple days but UM still has a shot. Tweet vertalen
I follow Nd to the point it may be a sickness. Still fucking weird to read threads about grown men buying beer to celebrate a a 17 year olds commitment.
ow for sure its weird, but its oddly positive to see a michigan 247 source saying they are seeing ND smoke
Yeah didn't realize he was committing so late. Figured he has already committed and the silence in here was due to bad news
congrats, i hate that twitter account now, was fully expecting UM and then it got my hope up, fuckers
I wish more kids would do the crazy move of not telling people what they are announcing before they announce it. Makes it more fun.
To be clear I wasn’t bullshitting you guys last week. This one has been over for awhile. Mcgregor was texting Henning when Henning was last on campus two weeks ago recruiting him to Michigan.
I’m not ready to believe that yet. I think we pulled even with you guys and it’s possible having McCarthy committed puts us ahead but we were nowhere in his recruitment before Gattis was hired so I can’t believe we’ve taken the lead yet.
It happens, he seems like a guy that should be a Nd commit but he can’t pull the trigger for some reason so I expect him to go elsewhere.
Lol, I remember when winning a recruiting battle was more important than winning the games. It was a bad time
No doubt, although at usc I am not sure you really stick out..at Florida I bet you can get whatever you want. I would also be tempted to go to Arizona. Just for a weekend
For a football official? Hard pass ND Texas Florida USC or UCLA Arizona State or Georgia That’s my five
Can never remember where the girls are, Arizona or Arizona state Arizona state just to meet herm would be awesome
Perfect scenario I silently commit to Nd after a few unofficial Officially visit Florida Usc Arizona state Georgia Lsu All during big game weekends
No, never been but it looks like a good campus to have fun, no? Remember we are talking about high school kids, I ain’t trying to go deep sea fishing I want some quality head homie
Yeah.... UF is landlocked in shit ass Florida. You want good head, you go to Ole Miss. What do you think my list is based on? 18 year old me.