Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1338415
18 MARCH 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Mayer produced the best single- season output at his position by a Notre Dame freshman with 42 catches for 450 yards and two scores. Current junior George Takacs, a four- star prospect, would have started at a lot of Power Five schools. Summary: Business as usual at "Tight End U." If you can't recruit this position at Notre Dame, along with the offensive line, then a career change is in order. On Paper Grade: B It was going to be difficult to match the standard established last year by Mayer and Bauman. This year's duo is more of a complement to it. Offensive Linemen Signed (Rivals Ranking): Blake Fisher (No. 25), Rocco Spindler (No. 67), Caleb Johnson (four-star), Pat Coogan (three-star) and Joe Alt (three-stars) Meeting Needs: After signing only two last year — Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody — this cupboard needed restocking with a bare mini- mum of four and preferably five in 2021. The Irish signed a full line (a first since 2013), with Coogan the most likely to shift to center. Fisher, a Rivals five-star, plus Spin- dler are the best tandem to sign with the Irish along the offensive line since five-star and now perennial All-Pro Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars (No. 98 in the nation) in 2014. Signing five-star Nolan Rucci (Wisconsin) would have made this as strong a group as any in the Ri- vals era, but this year's offensive line harvest ranks among the five best nationally on paper. Summary: With four starters from 2020 heading to the NFL, the compe- tition for action could make Fisher and Spindler viable candidates along the two-deep, especially as early en- trants in the spring semester. Among the 45 offensive linemen signed by the Irish in the 12 years from 2008-19, 42 have been red- shirted. The three exceptions were Trevor Robinson (2008), Steve Elmer (2013) and Robert Hainsey (2017) — all of whom were early enrollees, like Fisher and Spindler are this year. On Paper Grade: A The roster remains replete with top-100 to top-250 players that only about three or four programs can match. Defensive Linemen Signed (Rivals Ranking): Gabriel Rubio (No. 109) and Will Schweitzer (three-star), Jason Onye (three-star) and Devin Aupiu (three-star) Meeting Needs: This is the fourth consecutive year under associate head coach and defensive line coach Mike Elston that the Fighting Irish have signed a full complement of players up front, generally two on the edge and two in the interior. Onye is the wild card with his po- sition flexibility at a listed 6-5, 245, or as recruiting coordinator Brian Polian noted, "the type of guy that might someday be able to rush at three-technique on passing-down situations, because he would be such a mismatch." A recent example includes current freshman Rylie Mills, who enrolled as a listed 250-pound end but became a regular in the interior rotation as a 273-pound tackle. Other than Rubio in the interior, it also is more of a development unit over three or four years than a star- studded one. Elston has excelled with this pattern in two ways. First, he rotates liberally to keep legs fresh during the game and over the course of a campaign. Last year, 11 different linemen played at least 141 snaps (almost 12 per game) and not one more than 483, or about 40 per contest when 50 is generally con- sidered the threshold. Second, Elston and strength and conditioning director Matt Balis have had a laudable track record of first identifying and projecting talent, and then gradually developing it in the weight program. There is no better example than de- parting fifth-year senior end and team captain Ade Ogundeji, who originally committed to Western Michigan but with time, patience and work ethic developed into a bona fide NFL pros- pect at Notre Dame. Someone like the 6-5, 220-pound Aupiu, who originally committed to UCLA, is viewed in a similar manner. Summary: Even with graduation of fifth-year senior captains Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes at end, this overall unit should remain old and strong. In 2021, Kurt Hinish and Myron Ta- govailoa-Amosa provide the veteran look inside while explosive junior Isaiah Foskey headlines the edge. On Paper Grade: B- At 6-6, 330 pounds, Blake Fisher is a five-star prospect from Avon, Ind., who headlines a touted Irish offensive line class that ranks in the top five nationally. PHOTO BY MIKE SINGER