Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2019 75 FOOTBALL RECRUITING players that are quite high on Notre Dame, and the feeling is mutual. Lake Forest (Ill.) High star Rylie Mills — Rivals' No. 9 strongside defensive end and No. 165 overall player nationally — is a unique pros- pect in that he currently projects as an impact addition at both strong- side end and defensive tackle. His greater upside, however, is inside, where Mills' athleticism projects as more impactful. As an interior player, Mills be- comes a potentially dominant pass rusher and a highly disruptive run defender. Playing as a pure end he is more of a power player in the mold of former end Jay Hayes, although Mills has more pass rushing ability than Hayes. The top "big body" on the board for the Irish is clearly Brighton (Colo.) Mullen defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina. There are other interior offers on the board, but right now Notre Dame is making a push for just one pure inside player, and that is the Colorado native. The 6-3 Keanaaina — who is listed as the No. 265 overall player in the country by ESPN — would provide a wide-bodied, powerful and run- stopping interior big man that is hard to move. He was scheduled to make his announcement on Feb. 12. If Notre Dame misses out on Mills and Keanaaina, it will have to ex- pand its board, but right now land- ing those two standouts is a top de- fensive goal for the staff in 2020. LINEBACKER/ROVER Players On The 2020 Roster: 10 Projected Take: 1-2 Notre Dame has loaded up on line- backers the last two classes, bringing in eight recruits at the position, and seven of them are still listed at line- backer. All but one of those lineback- ers has eligibility beyond the 2020 season, and five will have at least three seasons left when the 2020 cam- paign begins. The staff could easily land one of its top prospects and call it a day. Go- ing past two will require the second pick up to be either a top talent or a player with high upside. Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter 's Prep linebacker Cody Simon, Rivals' No. 6 inside linebacker and No. 243 overall player nationally, is one of the top early targets on the board. Simon is the younger brother of current Notre Dame linebacker Shayne Simon. Expect the board to start to expand as the staff evaluates more of the top linebackers across the country. SAFETY Players On The 2020 Roster: 5 Projected Take: 2 Safety recruiting was wildly incon- sistent during the first eight seasons of Kelly's tenure. Notre Dame was often short on numbers at the po- sition, and the two safeties signed in the 2017 class (Jordan Genmark Heath and Isaiah Robertson) have since switched positions. Over the last two cycles Notre Dame has completely changed its fortunes at the position, adding five players. Two of the signees were Ri- vals100 players and two more were Rivals250 recruits. It is way too early to start listing names at safety, but expect the staff to limit its attention on players it deems to be top-end talents. CORNERBACK Players On The 2020 Roster: 5 Projected Take: 2 Notre Dame completely struck out at cornerback in the 2017 class, and it continued what had been up-and- down recruiting at the position the previous decade. Cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght landed three recruits at the position in the 2018 harvest and two more in the 2019 group. Two of the sign- ees were Rivals250 recruits, and two more were ranked among the top 250 players in the country by ESPN. Like safety, the focus will be on im- pact talent over depth or role players, but the board is just starting to get put together. SPECIALISTS Players On The 2020 Roster: 3 Projected Take: 0-1 Heading into the 2020 season the Irish will have a kicker, punter and snapper on scholarship. It will also have incoming walk-on Harrison Leonard competing at kicker. Landing a specialist isn't needed in the class, although Notre Dame has had a recent history of landing a snapper when the current snapper is heading into his final season. Should that trend continue the staff could decide to add a snapper on scholarship if it can't find a preferred walk-on. ✦ Cody Simon of Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep — and the younger brother of current Irish freshman Shayne Simon — is one of Notre Dame's top early targets on the board at linebacker. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM