Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 AUGUST 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Brenan Vernon Sets The Tone By Tyler Horka It's Mentor (Ohio) High four-star defensive end Brenan Vernon and — with all due respect to the other Notre Dame summer commits — it's not close. Talk about a tone setter. When the second commit in your class is considered a steal from Ohio State and holds an offer from Alabama among many oth- ers, you're doing something right. Not to mention Vernon is currently rated as the No. 9 overall player in the class of 2023 by Rivals and is believed to have a strong chance of earning five-star status. Vernon is the type of commit that could change the entire landscape of the Fighting Irish's 2023 class. It's one thing to secure pledges from players Notre Dame is expected to sign. Those are the guys from Catholic schools who are good fits for the Irish culture regardless of what they can do on the field. Vernon is a menacing 6-5, 250-pound defensive juggernaut from a sub- urban Ohio public school. When he pledges to Notre Dame, similar recruits across the country see that, take note of it and consider following suit. Along those lines, sealing the deal on a player like Vernon signals that this Notre Dame coaching staff is capable of monumental victories on the recruit- ing trail. The Irish have proven they are able to reach the College Football Playoff, but have not shown ability to win once there. The only way to take the next step is to put players on the field the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world wish they had for themselves. Jaylen Sneed Has First-Round Potential By Mike Singer It's a toss-up, in my opinion, between Vernon, who Horka selected, and Hilton Head (S.C.) High linebacker Jaylen Sneed. I believe both are five-star talents with first-round NFL Draft potential, but at this point in time I have the most conviction about Sneed. I've seen him in action on four separate oc- casions since March, and he does not disappoint. He was named MVP at the Rivals Atlanta regional camp and the Rivals Five-Star Challenge. There were three five-star linebackers at the Five-Star Challenge, too, but Sneed was clearly the best. At 6-2, 210 pounds, Sneed has the physicality and burst to come off the edge and the athleticism and length to be disruptive in pass coverage. His versa- tility is why folks inside the Guglielmino Athletics Complex are comparing Sneed to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Sneed can play any of the linebacker spots at Notre Dame and he can certainly play rover like Owusu-Koramoah did, but his highest upside might be at the Will position. When Marcus Freeman arrived at Notre Dame in January, one of his first acts as defensive coordinator was offering Sneed a scholarship. Ranked as the nation's No. 5 outside linebacker and No. 46 overall player in America, Sneed was a top priority for Freeman and arguably the most important target on the defensive side of the ball. Sneed is a decorated Under Armour All-American who is one of the most versatile linebackers I've ever seen. This is a huge get for the Irish. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH SUMMER COMMITMENT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO NOTRE DAME? Dr. Matt Frakes admits to hav- ing a bit of a myopic career view before, during and after his aca- demic journey on his way to a Ph.D. in nutrition and hospitality management. Something involving food (Frakes initially wanted to be cu- linary chef) or something involv- ing athletics (Frakes was a walk- on linebacker at Bowling Green) were the only two options being considered. Suffice it to say Frakes, 32, hit his career jackpot about two months ago when he was hired by Notre Dame to become director of sports nutrition, a position that works closely with all 26 of the Irish varsity sports programs, but especially with the football team. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Frakes' academic and early career endeavors took him from Bowl- ing Green to the University of Mississippi in 2015 for his doctorate work, then to the University of Louisiana (Lafayette) and the University of Louis- ville to begin his career. It was while serving as a sports dietician at Lou- isville that Frakes learned about the job opening at Notre Dame. He came to campus and interviewed, got the job and moved to South Bend in May with his wife, Kassandra, and their young son Kingston. Blue & Gold Illustrated caught up with Frakes to ask about his transition, mission and daily routine at his new job. BGI: How did you get into the sports nutrition field? Frakes: "It was maybe by luck, maybe by chance, maybe by blessing. It was a challenge at first because there was a huge learn- ing curve on the academic side. "But then I fell in love with it, especially when I started learning about how you could actually find a job working in athletics through nutrition because I knew I wasn't going to do anything else." BGI: What are your early impressions of Notre Dame? Frakes: "It's been great — my wife loves it and this is the smoothest transition I've ever had in my life and my career. The athletic department and also the environment here, the players, the coaching staff, everybody welcomed my family with open arms. "Once we touched ground here we fit in like family, so it's been amazing. I've never been around nicer people in my entire life." BGI: How would you describe a day in the life on the job? Frakes: "A day in the life right now is basically fig- uring out what we need to have, what we need as far as the budget and also building up our perfor- mance nutrition plan for each one of our athletes. "Then, also, bringing in new platforms and ap- plications so we can make sure that we're indi- vidualizing the needs of our athletes so we can better service their nutrition for better perfor- mance and recovery." BGI: How would you describe your depart- ment's place in the Notre Dame student-athlete development? Frakes: "We're just a piece of the puzzle, just like the strength and conditioning coaches are, just like mental performance is, just like the athletic train- ing staff is, just like the coaching staff is. We're all just one big, beautiful piece of the puzzle. "Where my piece of the puzzle comes in is ensur- ing that whatever they put in their body is giving them the energy and also the nutrients that it needs in order to be able to recover and perform well in the different settings that they have every day." BGI: Why is nutrition so quickly becoming such an important part of that development profile? Frakes: "Food is life and it's so personal, and everybody comes from different cultures and backgrounds, that's the beauty of it. "So we have to make sure that we are providing the things while also educating our athletes on how to feed themselves so they can become a better person and be prepared even after they leave here." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME DIRECTOR OF SPORTS NUTRITION DR. MATT FRAKES VERNON SNEED