Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 PRESEASON 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY BRYAN DRISKELL N otre Dame's 2019 recruit- ing class might not have im- pressed the national services as much as its previous six hauls, but it was strong where it needed to be and it will make its presence felt on the football field this season. The 22-man class was ranked 14th nationally by both Rivals and ESPN, while 247Sports had it 16th. Notre Dame's 247Sports composite ranking of No. 15 in the country was tied with the 2016 class for the lowest of the last seven seasons. Notre Dame continued its recent run of outstanding defensive line re- cruiting, though, and that group will make its presence felt earlier. It also landed one of the nation's best of- fensive line classes, but those players won't be needed right away. If all goes according to plan, the ma- jority of the incoming players will be able to preserve a season of eligibility. But the more injuries start to mount and the more opportunities they get to impress, it might be difficult to keep a lot of them on the sidelines to preserve the potential extra season. Of course, there are rookies who are just too talented not to play right away. The greater that number is, the better the chances this group can make an immediate impact. Here is our annual preseason over- view of the freshman class and the impact it could make in 2019. EARLY RETURNS Strong camp performances will give the 2019 class a chance to make an immediate impact Safety Kyle Hamilton has been a turnover machine in fall camp, putting him in position for immediate playing time. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER