My observations on prospects from Notre Dame's 2019 Irish Invasion. I'll start with ND's only commit at the camp and then go by class.
Greg Crippen, OL - 2021 - I love Crippen's film and he did some nice things today at camp, but he did not have the dominant performance I was hoping to see from him. Crippen is on the shorter side, which we knew he would be (about 6-3), but I did like his length. He has a strong frame and a thick lower half, which I liked. He showed good lateral agility, but at times his feet got heavy, especially when he tried to snap. That last part has to do with not having ever done it and not being comfortable with snapping and stepping, so I give him a pass on that, but overall I just didn't see the agility from him today that I see on film.
2020 CLASS
Jay Brunelle, WR - 2020 - Brunelle was arguably the best performer at today's camp. I like his film, but I questioned just how athletic he was. That question was answered in a big way today. First of all, his speed really stood out. I've seen him timed around 4.55 in the past, but I was told ND had him around 4.48 to 4.50. He played fast, but he's really strong and is learning how to use that. His ball skills today were exceptional, and even though Nigel Williams had him covered well a couple of times Brunelle was still able to go up and get it. What I was most impressed with/surprised by was his foot quickness, flexibility and agility. He's a strong all-around athlete in many ways. Outside of Williams and Faverus the DB play wasn't great, but athletically Brunelle looked like a Notre Dame caliber athlete.
Nigel Williams, CB - 2020 - Williams is a player whose film I had to watch as soon as I got home. He really stood out to me today. I liked his length for the position and despite being more of a QB than a full-time DB in high school, he looked natural at the position. He'll need some technique work like most young DB's, but I loved the physical tools he possesses. His feet are impressively quickly, he showed relatively fluid hips and he played the ball well. My only complaint is he needs to do a better job finishing off on deep throws, but I was really impressed with him. Athletically, what I saw today at camp and on his film, he looks better than a lot of the corners currently on the ND board. I'm curious why he isn't being recruited more heavily. If ND offered him right now I'd be pleased with that, the kid can flat out play.
Jairo Faverus, CB - 2020 - Faverus plays in Europe and he's EXTREMELY raw. His technique really needs work, but he showed me some really, really impressive skills today. He's a physical kid with good size for the position. He's strong and athletic, showing me loose hips and quick feet. At times his transitions really lag behind, but it's a technique things. When his feet are in good position his transitions are smooth and effortless. Faverus reads routes really well and did a good job in most instances not looking back to the QB and instead reading the eyes of the receiver. I was told he ran a 4.5 during testing, and that wouldn't surprise me the way he moved. Some things he does look awkward b/c his technique is lagging, but there are some tools a Power 5 school can work with. Offering him for ND could be something that requires time. He's got some tools to work with, but he's raw and you have to weigh that as well.
Alaka'i Gilman, S - 2020 - Gilman is a really heady and tough football player. He is smart, reads routes well and knows how to hold properly. I'm serious about that, that's a legit skill for DB's, knowing how to hold and not get called. He's got good feet and he turns relatively well, but he's not an overly explosive athlete and lacks ideal size for the position. When matched up against quicker and faster players he wasn't quite as effective, but you have to love how competitive he is. For me I just don't see him as a ND caliber player, but like his brother he'd probably overachieve and be more successful than I would have thought.
DJ Hamler, WR - 2020 - I only saw a few snaps of Hamler, but he impressed in those clips. He's not very big and I didn't see him with great deep speed on a couple of snaps, but he's really, really, really quick and agile.
2021 CLASS
Cade Berrong, TE - 2021 - Berrong is a highly regarded and heavily recruited player. You can see some flashes of it, but he didn't knock me over today. He's a quality athlete, but didn't really blow me away today. I haven't seen his film yet and I'm just going over what I saw today, so keep that in mind. His vertical speed is good and he caught the ball relatively well, but he was choppy as a route runner and didn't run past guys the way I expected him to. He's still young and his technique will improve, but he has to get stronger and really focus on his route running. There are definitely some tools there.
Jameson Geers, TE - 2021 - The 2021 TE that impressed me more was Illinois tight end Jameson Geers, who is from the same high school as Miles Boykin. Geers is really long. Not just tall, but long. His ball skills really caught my eye. There were two throws that seemed like they were going to sail over his head. High balls, thrown with gas, and at the last second he reached way up and snatched them out of the air. Ball skills all day really caught my attention, but he's a pretty athletic kid as well. Ran well, showed good foot quickness and has some potential as a route runner. Really like his frame as well, can put on a lot of good weight. This is a guy I'm going to keep my eye on. There were some highly ranked/recruited TE's on campus today and for me, Geers outplayed them all.
Billy Bowman, ATH - 2021 - Bowman isn't a natural DB, at least from a technique standpoint, so that got him in some trouble today. But his size/athleticism combination is really, really impressive. He's a pretty strong athlete for a young player, but his straight line speed stood out. When he ran his 40 you could see him moving really fast, but more importantly he was doing it relatively effortlessly. His change of direction skills are top notch.
Devon Williams, LB - 2021 - I really liked how this Ohio LB moved around and his frame caught my eye as well. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the LB's in 1on1s because they were outside while the WR/DB 1on1s were inside. But in drills Williams was a guy who constantly stood out. He is very light on his feet, his change of direction is top notch and he showed a burst as a runner that you want to see from a big-time linebacker. His frame is good and he'll keep adding weight/strength, and the way he moved today I would expect his athleticism to explode the older he gets and the stronger he gets. Impressive young athlete.
Andrel Anthony, WR - 2021 - Anthony is really, really raw. Really raw. Needs a ton of work as a route runner and he's very skinny, so filling out is important. But he's a good athlete with really quick feet and he has a pretty wide catch radius. As he gets stronger and improves his technique that will improve, because he's quite long. Not a guy I would offer right now because it's early, but he's a guy that I would certainly recruit.
JoJo Johnson, WR - 2021 - I'm not sure if Johnson is a ND caliber player right now, but he is a guy that would be on my radar for sure. He has good size (5-11) with an athletic frame. I liked his foot quickness a lot. He really showed some of the best feet at the camp. When he ran quick cuts like post curls or slants he would snap off extremely well and accelerated away from defenders. He needs some technique work on some other things, but he's a natural WR and a good worker. He caught the ball well and ran a 4.55 during testing. Definitely a guy I would bring in for a game this year and keep working out. I'd bring him back to Irish Invasion again next year and if his game improved and his 40 got down a tad I'd give him a serious look. I like this kid's game.
Greg Crippen, OL - 2021 - I love Crippen's film and he did some nice things today at camp, but he did not have the dominant performance I was hoping to see from him. Crippen is on the shorter side, which we knew he would be (about 6-3), but I did like his length. He has a strong frame and a thick lower half, which I liked. He showed good lateral agility, but at times his feet got heavy, especially when he tried to snap. That last part has to do with not having ever done it and not being comfortable with snapping and stepping, so I give him a pass on that, but overall I just didn't see the agility from him today that I see on film.
2020 CLASS
Jay Brunelle, WR - 2020 - Brunelle was arguably the best performer at today's camp. I like his film, but I questioned just how athletic he was. That question was answered in a big way today. First of all, his speed really stood out. I've seen him timed around 4.55 in the past, but I was told ND had him around 4.48 to 4.50. He played fast, but he's really strong and is learning how to use that. His ball skills today were exceptional, and even though Nigel Williams had him covered well a couple of times Brunelle was still able to go up and get it. What I was most impressed with/surprised by was his foot quickness, flexibility and agility. He's a strong all-around athlete in many ways. Outside of Williams and Faverus the DB play wasn't great, but athletically Brunelle looked like a Notre Dame caliber athlete.
Nigel Williams, CB - 2020 - Williams is a player whose film I had to watch as soon as I got home. He really stood out to me today. I liked his length for the position and despite being more of a QB than a full-time DB in high school, he looked natural at the position. He'll need some technique work like most young DB's, but I loved the physical tools he possesses. His feet are impressively quickly, he showed relatively fluid hips and he played the ball well. My only complaint is he needs to do a better job finishing off on deep throws, but I was really impressed with him. Athletically, what I saw today at camp and on his film, he looks better than a lot of the corners currently on the ND board. I'm curious why he isn't being recruited more heavily. If ND offered him right now I'd be pleased with that, the kid can flat out play.
Jairo Faverus, CB - 2020 - Faverus plays in Europe and he's EXTREMELY raw. His technique really needs work, but he showed me some really, really impressive skills today. He's a physical kid with good size for the position. He's strong and athletic, showing me loose hips and quick feet. At times his transitions really lag behind, but it's a technique things. When his feet are in good position his transitions are smooth and effortless. Faverus reads routes really well and did a good job in most instances not looking back to the QB and instead reading the eyes of the receiver. I was told he ran a 4.5 during testing, and that wouldn't surprise me the way he moved. Some things he does look awkward b/c his technique is lagging, but there are some tools a Power 5 school can work with. Offering him for ND could be something that requires time. He's got some tools to work with, but he's raw and you have to weigh that as well.
Alaka'i Gilman, S - 2020 - Gilman is a really heady and tough football player. He is smart, reads routes well and knows how to hold properly. I'm serious about that, that's a legit skill for DB's, knowing how to hold and not get called. He's got good feet and he turns relatively well, but he's not an overly explosive athlete and lacks ideal size for the position. When matched up against quicker and faster players he wasn't quite as effective, but you have to love how competitive he is. For me I just don't see him as a ND caliber player, but like his brother he'd probably overachieve and be more successful than I would have thought.
DJ Hamler, WR - 2020 - I only saw a few snaps of Hamler, but he impressed in those clips. He's not very big and I didn't see him with great deep speed on a couple of snaps, but he's really, really, really quick and agile.
2021 CLASS
Cade Berrong, TE - 2021 - Berrong is a highly regarded and heavily recruited player. You can see some flashes of it, but he didn't knock me over today. He's a quality athlete, but didn't really blow me away today. I haven't seen his film yet and I'm just going over what I saw today, so keep that in mind. His vertical speed is good and he caught the ball relatively well, but he was choppy as a route runner and didn't run past guys the way I expected him to. He's still young and his technique will improve, but he has to get stronger and really focus on his route running. There are definitely some tools there.
Jameson Geers, TE - 2021 - The 2021 TE that impressed me more was Illinois tight end Jameson Geers, who is from the same high school as Miles Boykin. Geers is really long. Not just tall, but long. His ball skills really caught my eye. There were two throws that seemed like they were going to sail over his head. High balls, thrown with gas, and at the last second he reached way up and snatched them out of the air. Ball skills all day really caught my attention, but he's a pretty athletic kid as well. Ran well, showed good foot quickness and has some potential as a route runner. Really like his frame as well, can put on a lot of good weight. This is a guy I'm going to keep my eye on. There were some highly ranked/recruited TE's on campus today and for me, Geers outplayed them all.
Billy Bowman, ATH - 2021 - Bowman isn't a natural DB, at least from a technique standpoint, so that got him in some trouble today. But his size/athleticism combination is really, really impressive. He's a pretty strong athlete for a young player, but his straight line speed stood out. When he ran his 40 you could see him moving really fast, but more importantly he was doing it relatively effortlessly. His change of direction skills are top notch.
Devon Williams, LB - 2021 - I really liked how this Ohio LB moved around and his frame caught my eye as well. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the LB's in 1on1s because they were outside while the WR/DB 1on1s were inside. But in drills Williams was a guy who constantly stood out. He is very light on his feet, his change of direction is top notch and he showed a burst as a runner that you want to see from a big-time linebacker. His frame is good and he'll keep adding weight/strength, and the way he moved today I would expect his athleticism to explode the older he gets and the stronger he gets. Impressive young athlete.
Andrel Anthony, WR - 2021 - Anthony is really, really raw. Really raw. Needs a ton of work as a route runner and he's very skinny, so filling out is important. But he's a good athlete with really quick feet and he has a pretty wide catch radius. As he gets stronger and improves his technique that will improve, because he's quite long. Not a guy I would offer right now because it's early, but he's a guy that I would certainly recruit.
JoJo Johnson, WR - 2021 - I'm not sure if Johnson is a ND caliber player right now, but he is a guy that would be on my radar for sure. He has good size (5-11) with an athletic frame. I liked his foot quickness a lot. He really showed some of the best feet at the camp. When he ran quick cuts like post curls or slants he would snap off extremely well and accelerated away from defenders. He needs some technique work on some other things, but he's a natural WR and a good worker. He caught the ball well and ran a 4.55 during testing. Definitely a guy I would bring in for a game this year and keep working out. I'd bring him back to Irish Invasion again next year and if his game improved and his 40 got down a tad I'd give him a serious look. I like this kid's game.
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