Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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74 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING It's not just about having bodies ei- ther. Of the 14 blockers currently on the roster with eligibility remaining, nine were Rivals250 players. Six of those 14 were ranked as top-100 re- cruits by at least one service. Notre Dame landed one of the pre- mier o-line hauls in the nation in 2019, with all four signees earning four-star grades and three ranking among the top 150 players in the nation accord- ing to Rivals. Like the rest of the roster on offense, Notre Dame is in position to focus on impact players up front as opposed to needing numbers. Notre Dame will make a push for Cincinnati St. Xavier five-star blocker Paris Johnson Jr., an Ohio State com- mit that visited South Bend for the second time in January. Rivals rates him as the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 7 overall player in the class. Another top target for the Irish is Littleton (Colo.) Columbine big man Andrew Gentry, the No. 6 offensive tackle and No. 40 overall player in the country according to Rivals. The 6-8, 305-pound Gentry is a powerful and athletic player who made an unof- ficial visit to South Bend in December. Nashville (Tenn.) Catholic four-star Bryn Tucker (No. 6 offensive guard and No. 175 overall) is another impor- tant recruit for the Notre Dame staff, but expect the list of offers to continue to expand until the class is full. DEFENSIVE END Players On The 2020 Roster: 7 Projected Take: 2-3 Notre Dame's numbers at defen- sive end are good, but there is a great need for more impact talent in the class with the graduation of Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem and Daelin Hayes after 2019. The three-man haul in 2019 helped restore the numbers, but outside of Isaiah Foskey and NaNa Osafo-Men- sah, there isn't a lot of high-level tal- ent on the roster. That puts Notre Dame in a situa- tion where landing high upside or impact players in this class is a must because adding just numbers won't improve the position group. Notre Dame got off to a good start when it added Dusseldorf (Germany) Fryeburg Academy end Alexander Ehrensberger to the class Jan. 31. The unranked Ehrensberger will need a lot of work, but his frame (6-7, 225), burst off the edge and natural power are top notch. At the top of the wish list is Port Huron (Mich.) Northern athlete Braiden McGregor, who posses a rare combination of size (6-6, 250), athleti- cism and power. His tools far surpass his current three-star status and No. 25 ranking at outside linebacker. It is a strong year nationally at end, and 10th-year defensive line coach Mike Elston has offered a number of the country's top edge players. If Elston is able to add McGregor and one more top-of-the-board end to the class, the 2020 haul could chal- lenge the 2016 class for best end group since the vaunted 2011 class that included five-stars Stephon Tu- itt and Ishaq Williams, as well as Aaron Lynch, who transferred after one year. Closing the deal is the next step for Elston. DEFENSIVE TACKLE Players On The 2020 Roster: 7 Projected Take: 2 Elston has strung together three consecutive strong defensive tackle hauls, most recently with Hunter Spears and Jacob Lacey. He is now at the point with defensive tackle re- cruiting where he can focus more of his attention on adding difference makers. Combining a disrupter with more of a space-eating player would be ideal, and Notre Dame is in strong position to make that happen. There are two players who project as power Lake Forest (Ill.) High product Rylie Mills — the No. 9 strongside defensive end and No. 165 overall pros- pect nationally per Rivals — has been a top Notre Dame target for more than a year. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL