Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2021 47 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY MIKE SINGER The 2021 recruiting class had plenty of twists, turns and surprises. The addition of Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn quarterback Ron Powlus III was unexpected on one hand, but on the other was pretty obvious. Powlus' recruiting process had very little attention and was off the public radar, but according to Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly the plan all along was to have Powlus in the class. "Ron was someone we were re- cruiting from the very beginning," Kelly said during his early signing period press conference in Decem- ber. "He was an early take for us. We wanted him to be a part of our program from day one." However, it was not public knowl- edge that Powlus would be a part of Notre Dame's class until the univer- sity announced him as a signee the morning of Dec. 16. Powlus never posted on social media that he was committed to the Fighting Irish like 99 percent of recruits do. It also came as a surprise that Powlus was a scholarship quarter- back take for the Fighting Irish. With the amount of quarterback issues Notre Dame has had over the years, though, bringing in Powlus — who will likely stick around for the long run — makes a lot of sense. In 11 seasons under Kelly, the only two quarterbacks who used up all their eligibility under him were Tommy Rees (2010-13) and Ian Book (2016-20). Andrew Hendrix, Everett Golson, Malik Zaire and Brandon Wimbush all became graduate trans- fers, while DeShone Kizer opted to turn pro after his junior season in 2016. Yet it wasn't a surprise to see Pow- lus in Notre Dame's 2021 class con- sidering his bloodlines. He will follow his father, Ron, who was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Irish from 1994-97, served as a two-time captain and is currently the associate athletics director for football. Powlus was tied for the most wins all time at Notre Dame as a starting quarterback (29) until Ian Book broke that record against Syracuse Dec. 5. The elder Powlus coached quar- terbacks at Kansas from 2012-14 and Akron from 2010-11. He also coached Notre Dame's quarterbacks from 2007-10. "RP3" will look to carve his own legacy at Notre Dame. ✦ Ron Powlus III Follows In Father's Footsteps To Notre Dame As a senior, Powlus was tabbed a first-team Class 6 All-State selection by the Indiana Football Coaches Association. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM RON POWLUS III QUARTERBACK 6-3 · 230 PENN H.S. GRANGER, IND. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — — — ✪ ✪ ✪ — 87* 27 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 161* 49 * Ranked as pro-style QB STATISTICS • Connected on 104 of 184 passes for 1,435 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions as a senior in 2020. NOTABLE • 2020 Indiana Football Coaches Association first-team Class 6A All-State. • 2020 first-team All-Northern Indiana Confer- ence. • Was a member of the Penn High School Stu- dent-Athlete Leadership Council. • Son of former Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, who is currently the associate athletics director for Irish football. • Was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 9 years old. • Quarterback MVP of 2019 Rivals Camp Series stop in St. Louis. RECRUITMENT • Was not a public commitment to Notre Dame until the university announced his signing as a scholarship player on Dec. 16, 2020. • Was long in the plans as a member of Notre Dame's 2021 recruiting class, per the Irish coach- ing staff. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in February. • Also held offers from Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Indiana State, Kentucky and Yale. • Recruited by quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian. 2021 PROJECTION • Powlus is likely to redshirt as a true freshman. THEY SAID IT Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly: "We felt that we needed two quarterbacks. We were trans- parent with all of our quarterbacks, and they knew that we were taking two. That wasn't a mystery. We were very clear. "We like that there was a connection to the pro- gram with Ronnie. We've seen him quite a bit. It was an easy take for us. He has a live arm and has a lot of raw talent. He'll be in a different system and a different offense than in high school. We think he'll be well suited in the offense that we're going to be running. "It 's projecting him a bit for us, and when we project him, we think he's a great fit in our offense." Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Brian Polian: "We know his makeup, and we obviously know his family. I've known Ronnie since he was a kid. That one was an easy one for us. "… We thought Ronnie would be the ideal sec- ond quarterback in this class. … We feel very confi- dent in who we're getting as a person and a player, and we're excited about it." Rivals Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helm- holdt: "We have been watching Ron Powlus III for a long time, but he fell off the recruiting radar of a lot of schools when he missed his junior season with an injury. "Ron did come back as a senior. The injury seems to have made him less mobile, but he can stand in the pocket and sling it. "He won MVP at the Rivals Camp in St. Louis as a sophomore, and the quarterback coaches there loved him because he definitely has the arm talent, and fundamentally/technically he is very clean. Bringing him in as a second quarterback in a class is a great idea."