Rank the 2019 signees

[Bumpdaddy]

Several of the analysts at the paid sites have given their personal rankings of the 2019 signees so I thought it might be interesting to start a thread to see who wants to go on record by giving their own personal rankings. Keep in mind, this has nothing to do with the star system, although if you believe stars are the end all be all, feel free to rank the players accordingly. The goal should be to rank the players according to how much of an impact they will have while playing at ND. Obviously, there aren't any right or wrong answers. The criteria should be that if you think a player has the potential to be a 3 or 4-year starter and/or possibly a 1st or 2nd round NFL draft pick you should rank that player in your top 5. A player who likely will be a backup most of his ND career should be ranked near the bottom. The rest should be filled in between accordingly.

Here's my list with comments for my top 10 and for a few other notables:

1. Kyle Hamilton, S - This is likely most people's no. 1. His film is amazing as well as his physical profile. I think he will be a starter by 2020.
2. Zeke Correll, OL - I know there's a question as to how much size he'll be able to put on but I think his superior technique and nasty attitude will get him in the starting lineup early and keep him there.
3. Kyren Williams, RB - I likely have him ranked higher than just about anybody but I really like his film. He's electric with the ball. Some have questioned his speed but BK said they believe he is as fast as Dexter. Of course, he's much smaller, so that's a concern, but BK uses his RB's on a rotation so he doesn't have to be a power back or an every down back. He just needs to be a playmaker and I think he will be.
4. Isaiah Foskey, DE - I really like his film. He's very quick and already Okwara's size. Probably not as quick as Okwara but he'll get bigger. Somewhere in the 250-260lb range. I think he's going to create havoc in 2 years.
5. Jacob Lacey, DT - Almost as close to a sure thing as Hamilton. Maybe not in terms of upside but his floor is as high as anybody's.
6. Quinn Carroll, OL - Either Carroll or Kristofic will likely be the best OT prospect in this class. I'm guessing it will be Carroll because he is less of a developmental project.
7. Marist Liafau, LB - I think he's just now growing into his body. Once he fills out he'll be hard to deal with.
8. Jack Kiser, LB - Obviously, I think Kiser and Liafau are going to outperform their rankings and both will play a big part in ND's LB corps in about 2 years or so. I feel more confident about placing Kiser higher in this list now that there are rumors he's looking really, really good in winter workouts.
9. Kendall Abdur-Rahman, WR/RB (ATH) - Another one that I likely have ranked higher than most. I think the recruiting services ranked him relatively low because he mostly played QB in high school, but I think his speed and athleticism will make him a game breaker once he focuses on a position.
10. Isaiah Rutherford, CB - Great athlete overall. His highlight video mostly shows him playing RB on offense but he had a great week playing CB at the Polynesian Bowl and I think he'll only get better as he focuses on one position.
11. Jay Bramblett, P - Yes, he's only a punter but he will be the only punter on scholarship and is almost guaranteed to be the guy over the next 4 years.
12. Andrew Kristofic, OL
13. Osita Ekwonu, LB
14. Nana Osafo-Mensah, DE - I think I might regret ranking him this low. I think he has a chance to develop in the weight room and under Elston's tutelage. If/when he does he could be a beast.
15. KJ Wallace, CB
16. Litchfield Ajavon, S
17. Howard Cross, DE
18. JD Bertrand, LB
19. Brendon Clark, QB - ND's QB situation is always hard to predict beyond 1 or 2 years down the line so I could be really wrong about ranking Clark this low. He's got loads of talent but right now I don't see a path to be the starter.
20. Cam Hart, WR
21. Hunter Spears, DL - He has the potential to be really, really good but I'm a little worried about his health considering he's had two ACL surgeries.
22. John Olmstead, OL

There is no doubt I will be wildly wrong about several of these. Who else wants to go on record with their own rankings?

 

[IrishInOntario]

Thanks for taking the time. There is a lot of what you wrote that I agree with and my own wouldn't be too far off. One guy that I think ends up being productive in that Trevor Laws mould (not that I think he's going to record 100+ tackles at a DL in one season) is Howard Cross. There is nothing that sticks out on paper about cross, but he's tough kid and a battler. His dad was also one heck of a player in high own right. He needs to put on a little bit of that Clemson mass, but I think by his junior year he'll be a regular in the rotation and he could be an excellent 5th year candidate at some point as well.

I don't disagree with where you've ranked Cross, I just feel like he's the type of player that ND is quietly going to get a lot of mileage out of.

 

[ftnfan62]

I hope Kyren is all we hope he is....If you look at the last 5 years, we seemed to have lost most of our RB's. We are going to need to pull a CJ Procise move or two...