Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 157 Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Chip Long have made no secret of their desire to generate a more explosive and effective offense. The last decade of championship games have shown that while defense gets teams in the battle, it's the ability to score against the best defenses that brings home the crown. Led by Long, the offensive staff is well on its way to bringing in the talent needed to build an elite offense. The 2020 class, however, has a chance to be Notre Dame's best haul on the side of the ball in over a decade. By mid-June the Fighting Irish had received commitments from six offensive players, who all rank within the top 130 players in the country according to Rivals. In fact, five of the offensive commits were ranked in the top 100. The previous high for Notre Dame during the Kelly era is three, which was accomplished in the 2013 and 2014 classes. Through early June, Notre Dame's five top-100 offensive commits were tied with Ohio State for the most in the entire country, with Clemson and LSU next with three. Notre Dame's six offensive weap- ons ranked among Rivals' top 250 overall prospects were tied with the Buckeyes for second, trailing only Clemson's seven. For context, consider that Georgia had the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the country in 2019, but the Bulldogs had just three top-100 recruits on offense in that class by the time it signed in February. Alabama has met or surpassed five top-100 commits on offense just once in the last five years (2016), and Clemson's vaunted 2018 class that fueled its most recent national championship added four top-100 recruits on that side of the ball. The Irish have always had success landing top-100 offensive line- men and tight ends, and they have one of each in the current class, with Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle standout Tosh Baker, the No. 51 prospect in the country, and Alexandria (Ky.) Covington Catholic standout tight end Michael Mayer (No. 71) joining the fold. What makes the 2020 class so important is that Notre Dame is also in the process of adding top-level skill talent to the roster, something it hasn't done much of recently. The 2020 class contains five-star wide receiver Jordan Johnson of St. Louis De Smet, who ranks as the No. 19 player in the country. In May, Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale running back Chris Tyree — the nation's No. 64 recruit and No. 1 all-purpose back — committed to Notre Dame. Tyree won the Fastest Man competition at Nike Foot- ball's The Opening Finals a year ago, and his sophomore and junior 55-meter dash times were the fastest in the nation for his class year. Notre Dame has not signed a running back with his speed in a very long time, and it's something the staff has desperately wanted since Long arrived. Johnson is known as a home-run threat at the wide receiver position, which means Notre Dame is adding elite speed on the perimeter and in the backfield, something it just hasn't done in at least a decade. Rivals analyst Josh Helmholdt recently explained why Johnson has become one of the fastest-rising wideouts in the country. "It is difficult to pinpoint a weakness in the Notre Dame commit's game," Helmholdt wrote. "He has size, he has speed and he has the ability to make plays other wide receivers do not. The only question Johnson can answer going forward is: Just how high is his ceiling?" The first commitment in the class was New Canaan (Conn.) High School standout quarterback Drew Pyne, the No. 82 overall recruit in the land. Rivals named Pyne as the best quarterback on the camp circuit this winter and spring, and he has been instrumental in encour- aging other top offensive players to join him in the class. Notre Dame's sixth commit on offense is Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic tight end Kevin Bauman, who ranks as the No. 121 prospect in the country. The last Red Bank Catholic player to sign with Notre Dame was offensive lineman Quenton Nelson. Long and wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander are looking to add even more impact talent to the class. Notre Dame is pushing for three-star Omaha (Neb.) Burke wide receiver Xavier Watts, and the staff hopes to have him in the class by the end of June. The Irish would also love to add four-star Fresno (Calif.) San Joaquin Memorial receiver Jalen McMillan, the nation's No. 63 overall recruit. One class alone can't make a program a true national title contender. But adding this class to the 2019 line haul, which was considered one of the nation's best, and the 2018 class that featured a pair of top-100 recruits in quarterback Phil Jurkovec and wide receiver Kevin Austin, as well as other talented wideouts like Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys, has the Irish offense poised for a major leap forward in coming seasons. — Bryan Driskell Notre Dame Is Putting Together A Truly Special Offensive Class Five-star wide receiver Jordan Johnson of St. Louis De Smet — the No. 19 overall prospect in the nation according to Rivals — anchors a Notre Dame offensive recruiting class that is among the best in the country. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM