2020 Recruiting Update

[IrishInOntario]

I think ND would take 1 tackle,1 guard and Gentry[mission] and close down for 2020 unless a really great tackle recruit opened up interest in ND.Christ is gone already to UVA.

Christ was just "ok" IMO as well... 265-270lbs... Needs to add 40+lbs to his frame before he could be a difference making OT on a playoff team...

I'm not as interested in those guys as I am the 6'5+, 290-300lb athletes that Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State also want. The guys that are ready to contribute as sophomores, either as quality depth or as starters if need be. The kind if guys that spend 1 year in a college weight room and weigh 310lbs and already look like they're 22, not 19.

ND lands some of those guys, but they need more. 1 per class is not enough. 2-3 needs to be the minimum target. Creates immediate competition and keeps you 7-8 deep with kids that have the size to move people. We can't have the Trevor Ruhland's of the world being the #6 OL at 6'3, 295lbs, to hold his own down at Georgia against the 6'4, 315lb defensive tackle opposite him, who is also a better athlete.

The Zack Martin's of the world, the 6'4, 305lb OT with PERFECT technique, are a rarity in college. If ND can find and develop one, great... But you're better to look for guys with Quenton Nelson's frame. Mike McGlinchey's frame. Ronnie Stanley's frame. Liam Eichenberg's frame. Aaron Banks' frame. Quinn Carroll's frame. Tosh Baker's frame. Landon Tengwall's frame. Blake Fisher's frame.

Those dudes will move people and have the arm length to keep quarterbacks safe as soon as they anchor in their pass set. You give athletes like that to Balis, and he gives you playoff contending rosters in return.

 

[bizzybecknd]

one could argue that Josh Adams was a game changing player in his last year. yes he had a couple of bad games but a kid that destroyed a very good wolfpack d-line while putting up 1400 or so yds while missing several 4th qtrs due to blowouts. our irish wouldn't have won ten games without him. what do you personally consider a game changing player 88ND

Josh was a game changer, as was Dexter and Procise. Will Fuller might be the only WR. EQ, Boykin, TJ Jones were all solid but not game changers.

 

[IrishInOntario]

Josh was a game changer, as was Dexter and Procise. Will Fuller might be the only WR. EQ, Boykin, TJ Jones were all solid but not game changers.

Michael Floyd?
Tyler Eifert in a split out role?

 

[coolirish9]

IL 4 star SDE Rylie Mills is having his anoucement on Monday at 6 pm and is expected to choose our irish after recent visits to Wisconsin and to the buckeyes. getting him will be huge for two reason for the irish as first he is a great d-line player that most of the top schools offered and secondly he and 4 star MI DE McGregor have become really close friends according to insiders and this could help in getting McGregor to verbal to the good guys over the really bad guys up in ann arbor. getting these two to go with 4 star Jordan Botelho would give our irish a possible top five rated d-line class that could be scary to face down the road

 

[IrishInOntario]

IL 4 star SDE Rylie Mills is having his anoucement on Monday at 6 pm and is expected to choose our irish after recent visits to Wisconsin and to the buckeyes. getting him will be huge for two reason for the irish as first he is a great d-line player that most of the top schools offered and secondly he and 4 star MI DE McGregor have become really close friends according to insiders and this could help in getting McGregor to verbal to the good guys over the really bad guys up in ann arbor. getting these two to go with 4 star Jordan Botelho would give our irish a possible top five rated d-line class that could be scary to face down the road

Good summary of the situation. That's how I see it as well. Would be shocked if Mills is anything but Irish tomorrow.

 

[coolirish9]

Good summary of the situation. That's how I see it as well. Would be shocked if Mills is anything but Irish tomorrow.

do you think we are done at d-line recruiting if McGregor actually joins Mills if Mills really does pop for us tomorrow

 

[IrishInOntario]

do you think we are done at d-line recruiting if McGregor actually joins Mills if Mills really does pop for us tomorrow

Mills
McGregor
Keanaaina
Ehrensberger
McGregor

Would be class over, yes. Personally, I'd still push for Deonte Craig if he wanted to come though. Can never have too many quality DL developing at ND.

 

[coolirish9]

Mills
McGregor
Keanaaina
Ehrensberger
McGregor

Would be class over, yes. Personally, I'd still push for Deonte Craig if he wanted to come though. Can never have too many quality DL developing at ND.

I forgot about the DT from Colorado being on board already and plus the kid from Germany I believe who verbaled a few months ago

 

[Golson5]

So whats the breakdown of Mills. How good can he be. Is he an elite player, starter or rotational player on a playoff team?

 

[coolirish9]

So whats the breakdown of Mills. How good can he be. Is he an elite player, starter or rotational player on a playoff team?

IIO may be able to answer this better than me but i'd say that he is a big time recruit that has offers from Michigan, the buckeyes amongst many other top schools like bama and a kid that can be an elite d-line player down the road like Tillery was this past season. I personally see him playing interior on the line instead of DE because of his size alraedy

 

[IrishInOntario]

So whats the breakdown of Mills. How good can he be. Is he an elite player, starter or rotational player on a playoff team?

A 2 inch taller Derek Landri, with longer arms!

Yes Please.

 

[IrishInOntario]

IIO may be able to answer this better than me but i'd say that he is a big time recruit that has offers from Michigan, the buckeyes amongst many other top schools like bama and a kid that can be an elite d-line player down the road like Tillery was this past season. I personally see him playing interior on the line instead of DE because of his size alraedy

He's not a freak like Jerry, IMO. Very few guys are 6'7, 305lbs, run a 4.9, 40, have Jerry's arm length and would have been a 1st round NFL Draft pick at DT or OT.... I think Mills is really good. A taller, longer, Derek Landri, IMO. Or Jay Hayes, had he played inside like he should have his entire career at ND... But I hesitate when people use Tillery or Tuitt for comparison sake because those guys were freakshow jumbo athletes.

You know what would be awesome though?... If I was wrong, and Rylie Mills turned out to be JJ Watt. Sign me up all day for that.

 

[THUNDERSTRUCK111]

Thoughts on zinter committing to Michigan?

 

[NDAFArly]

Thoughts on zinter committing to Michigan?

The ND staff had been evaluating him for a while & weren’t sold on his agility or ability to play where they wanted him to at ND. That’s why they were not taking a commitment from him & had 2-3 others above him. They went out to see him workout once more on Monday to re-evaluate him & the workout didn’t go well (according to multiple sources) so ND decided he wasn’t a fit for their OL. Zinter is a better fit for what Michigan wants so after ND made it clear he wasn’t a take for them he committed to UM.

 

[Good4Bad]

The ND staff had been evaluating him for a while & weren’t sold on his agility or ability to play where they wanted him to at ND. That’s why they were not taking a commitment from him & had 2-3 others above him. They went out to see him workout once more on Monday to re-evaluate him & the workout didn’t go well (according to multiple sources) so ND decided he wasn’t a fit for their OL. Zinter is a better fit for what Michigan wants so after ND made it clear he wasn’t a take for them he committed to UM.

 

[Good4Bad]

What other O -line prospects outside of Gentry & Carmody is Notre Dame in the running for this cycle ?

 

[IrishInOntario]

I said weeks ago that they should pass on Zinter. Glad they did.

 

[NDAFArly]

What other O -line prospects outside of Gentry & Carmody is Notre Dame in the running for this cycle ?

They like Reece Atteberry a lot for inside (most likely Center).

They would probably take Carmody & Attebury then shut things down unless Gentry wanted in, but he wouldn’t count against numbers until 2022.
Then they will concentrate on the loaded 2021 OL class.

 

[NDAFArly]

I said weeks ago that they should pass on Zinter. Glad they did.

Yeah, you probably know more about this than me, but evidently his workout for the ND staff didn’t go very well on Monday & re-emphasized their doubts about him.

 

[Golson5]

I said weeks ago that they should pass on Zinter. Glad they did.

Agreed

 

[tbonesays]

Zinter is a better fit for what Michigan wants .

What is Michigan becoming?

 

[NDAFArly]

What is Michigan becoming?

ND & UM have different strategy when recruiting OL. ND likes agile, long-armed recruits. Michigan likes the beefier, road-grader kinds. Zinter falls into the latter category.

 

[Good4Bad]

ND & UM have different strategy when recruiting OL. ND likes agile, long-armed recruits. Michigan likes the beefier, road-grader kinds. Zinter falls into the latter category.

At this juncture what are ND's chances of signing Attebuey &Carmody ?

 

[NDAFArly]

At this juncture what are ND's chances of signing Attebuey &Carmody ?

Very good.

 

[Golson5]

At this juncture what are ND's chances of signing Attebuey &Carmody ?

Probably land both in the next month

 

[IowaIrish1]

Is that robbies brother. Havent kept that close of attention

 

[theskibro]

Is that robbies brother. Havent kept that close of attention

What happened to Kevin Pine? Why did he pick BC? I thought he was ours to lose. Did we not want him?

 

[NDAFArly]

What happened to Kevin Pine? Why did he pick BC? I thought he was ours to lose. Did we not want him?

He STRUGGLED his junior season. Then announced he wasn’t going back for his senior season (reclassified). He still can play one more year, but doesn’t seem motivated.
As far as ND, they passed on him, along with all the other major programs. Everybody backed off him. To put it nicely, he was just a lot bigger than everybody & bullied people without technique. His junior year that caught up to him & he got beat a lot. After ND, Michigan & OSU all three passed on him he immediately committed to BC.

 

[d1042]

IIO

Botelho
How do you project this kid. The descriptions of this kid almost always cite his toughness and strength.
Do you think he can move inside the DL and be another Zorich? Smaller but super tough and strong?

 

[coolirish9]

Is that robbies brother. Havent kept that close of attention

yes he is robbies younger brother

 

[coolirish9]

anyone know anything latest wise on IL RB/WR AJ Henning. like reading other boards and read a post from someone saying that it has been known for months now that Henning isn't coming to ND

 

[NDAFArly]

anyone know anything latest wise on IL RB/WR AJ Henning. like reading other boards and read a post from someone saying that it has been known for months now that Henning isn't coming to ND

That’s not true. In fact, up until about two weeks ago ND was still his leader. He just told people that ND is still in it & he’s meeting with Chip Long next week. But people who had ND as his leader two weeks ago are now saying that’s not the case now. He is in love with the recruiting process & is enjoying all the attention. ND will still recruit him, but they actually like McMillan & Watts more. I was a huge AJ fan the last couple years, but I’m honestly over him now. Too much of a diva for me now. He will probably end up at UM with his buddy JJ.
On a side note Jordan Johnson won MVP at the St. Louis Rivals Regional today.

 

[Bumpdaddy]

anyone know anything latest wise on IL RB/WR AJ Henning. like reading other boards and read a post from someone saying that it has been known for months now that Henning isn't coming to ND

A while back, IIO predicted that Henning would end up in this class but labeled him as "this year's Griffith". I took that to mean a nearby kid (Illinois) who was high on the Irish early in the recruiting cycle, then drifts away from ND in the middle (Griffith verbaled to FSU originally), only to come back to ND at the end. Maybe that's the wrong interpretation but I think that's what he was getting at. If so, then I think the best way to look at Henning is he's the type of kid who wants to take as many recruiting trips as possible. He might even fall in love with some other schools along the way, but when it comes down to actually signing with someone he is likely going to go with the nearby school who was his first love all along, similar to Griffith.

 

[IrishInOntario]

A while back, IIO predicted that Henning would end up in this class but labeled him as "this year's Griffith". I took that to mean a nearby kid (Illinois) who was high on the Irish early in the recruiting cycle, then drifts away from ND in the middle (Griffith verbaled to FSU originally), only to come back to ND at the end. Maybe that's the wrong interpretation but I think that's what he was getting at. If so, then I think the best way to look at Henning is he's the type of kid who wants to take as many recruiting trips as possible. He might even fall in love with some other schools along the way, but when it comes down to actually signing with someone he is likely going to go with the nearby school who was his first love all along, similar to Griffith.

Your interpretation of what I said is correct and that is what I did believe. Admittedly, I am moving away from that opinion because I actually think ND is starting to value guys above Henning. A.J. is not running like he did before the hip injury. When he was running a 10.6 100m as a high school sophomore, it was intriguing. Post injury, he's nowhere near that and at 5'9-5'10, his skill set doesn't really make up what he now lacks in elite speed... A guy like Chris Tyree would run circles around these days.

I think ND has moved on to Watts as their primary speed target at WR to replace Henning. They feel he's just as fast, but also 6'1 and more accomplished as a WR. I terms of uncommitted receivers (or which they'll take 2-3 total in the class) I believe Watts, McMillan and Redding are now their #2 and #3 targets and #4 which has shifted my opinion some about the eventuality of Henning winding up in the class.

I think if ND could choose an offensive class today it would be...

QB: Drew Pyne
RB: Chris Tyree
WR: Jordon Johnson
WR: Jalen McMillan
WR: Jalen Watts or Michael Redding
TE: Michael Mayer
TE: Kevin Bauman
OT: Tosh Baker
OT: Michael Carmody

That would allow them to save 1-2 spots in their offensive recruiting class, to take somebody like Henning that came back to them late in the cycle, an elite player that became interested in ND later in the recruiting cycle, or a it would allow them to take one of the several kids that they are tracking that are "under the radar" right now.

For example, Roman Wilson, a Hawaiian WR just blew up at the Opening even in California. The kid checked in at 6'0, 175ish lbs and ran a 4.36 40, and caught everything thrown his way. After the event, he went from unknown, to offers from a bunch of major schools... The kid was productive on film as well. He had 800+ yards receiving last year, in an offense that didn't throw the ball well. That's the type of kid that flies under the radar, slowly gets bumped up towards the end of the cycle to a low 4 star, and winds up as either a bust, or maybe he's a Will Fuller. The ND staff is trying to find a couple guys like that every year.

 

[IrishInOntario]

IIO

Botelho
How do you project this kid. The descriptions of this kid almost always cite his toughness and strength.
Do you think he can move inside the DL and be another Zorich? Smaller but super tough and strong?

I loved Zorich. One of my faves. That's not Botelho though. Jordan will play st 240-250lbs. His ideal position in this defense is at Drop end, playing in the manner that Daelin Hayes does. If that didn't work, a move to MIKE Backer, IMO, would be his next best fit. He'd be a rocked up 240lb hitting machine at MIKE.

I think the Zorich days are behind us, unfortunately. No matter how tough you are, 6'1, 265-270lbs just does not cut it anymore against 6'5, 315lb guards that are as, or more athletic than you and just as juiced to the gills. Regardless, I'll always have the fondest of memories watching Chris dominate in a different era.

 

[D_Master]

Looks like it could be a MAJOR recruiting week for the Irish. Tyree has been on the schedule for a few days now for an announcement on Thurs. Now McGregor has scheduled his announcement for Friday. I know ND's coaches have liked to schedule announcements in bunches in the past. Could we be seeing something like that again this week? We shall see I guess. I want to think so but I see McGregor w/ over 80% of Crystal Ball predictions to UM.

 

[NDAFArly]

Looks like it could be a MAJOR recruiting week for the Irish. Tyree has been on the schedule for a few days now for an announcement on Thurs. Now McGregor has scheduled his announcement for Friday. I know ND's coaches have liked to schedule announcements in bunches in the past. Could we be seeing something like that again this week? We shall see I guess. I want to think so but I see McGregor w/ over 80% of Crystal Ball predictions to UM.

ND doesn’t decide announcement dates. They have no say in it.
And don’t get your hopes up on Friday.

 

[IrishInOntario]

Looks like it could be a MAJOR recruiting week for the Irish. Tyree has been on the schedule for a few days now for an announcement on Thurs. Now McGregor has scheduled his announcement for Friday. I know ND's coaches have liked to schedule announcements in bunches in the past. Could we be seeing something like that again this week? We shall see I guess. I want to think so but I see McGregor w/ over 80% of Crystal Ball predictions to UM.

I like Michigan as of today. Unless something changes this week, I'm still saying "no bueno" on McGregor.

 

[Golson5]

I like Michigan as of today. Unless something changes this week, I'm still saying "no bueno" on McGregor.

Disappointing. He is a great player

 

[IrishInOntario]

Disappointing. He is a great player

Yep. Good get for Michigan if that's where he goes. Pretty much a bigger version of Chase Winovich, who Michigan just put in the NFL.

There are about 5 kids on ND's DE board that I still like. I don't know that any will be as good as McGregor, but some Mike Elston can be trusted to build quality DL units. It's also early enough in the cycle that ND can kick some tires with other guys... Mitchell Melton, Brandon Taylor and Deontae Craig are all guys that could add to this DL class.

I think ND can still land a top 10-12 DL class without Braden. With quality coaching and development, the group could develop better than that. You're not closing the gap on Clemson or Alabama with a group like that, but it's keeping you competitive in the "next tier"... Given that's the currently reality of ND football, you have to hold serve at the very least.