Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com FEBRUARY 2023 33 FOOTBALL RECRUITING days? Freeman is not looking at the on- coming storm and telling everyone to put away their umbrellas, but he doesn't sound like someone ducking for cover either. "It's a topic of discussion," Freeman said. "But in terms of acquisition fees, we're not going to get into that. We can't. If that's going to be the reason you decide to come here, it's hard to keep you here." If the last two cycles are any indica- tion, Freeman selling the reasons re- cruits do come to Notre Dame should attract top-10 classes on a near-annual basis. That would be an extended run of talent acquisition the Irish haven't reached this century. But what about pushing higher? Notre Dame, for all it had to celebrate, signed its second straight class without a five-star prospect, according to the On3 Consensus. Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia — the teams the Irish want to view as recruiting peers — signed a combined nine this year. Having Bowen and Keeley in the fold at one point and nearly snatching Moore is a sign there are five-star recruits inter- ested in a top education who see Notre Dame as a top-tier football destination, or can at least be sold on both. If the Irish are going to do more in Freeman's ten- ure than the peak of Brian Kelly's, they'll need to add more of those players. Keeley, Bowen and Moore are all top- 15 prospects in the class, according to the On3 Consensus. Notre Dame signed two such recruits from 2010-21 — enough to make the playoff, but not win in it. To do so, you need a couple more Michael Mayer-type players. The more top-15, top-30, top-50 or top-100 pros- pects in a class, the better the chances of finding them. Freeman, ever introspective, under- stands that's why he can't just shrug, chalk those defections up to NIL ma- chines and move on. "Every recruit who signed here, why did we get him?" Freeman said. "What was important? The kids we didn't get, why didn't we get them and what was important? What could we have done differently? The kids who decommitted, why did they decommit and what could have done differently?" That self-study won't make him sacrifice fit or stop leading his recruit- ing efforts with why he believes Notre Dame is unique. He doesn't want to use Notre Dame's NIL opportunities as the primary tool to earn a commitment. He wants everyone who signs to un- derstand the journey on which they're embarking. "If that's the only reason they want to come to Notre Dame, it's not going to be the right fit for them," Freeman said. "The more we get them back to show them what makes Notre Dame impor- tant — what makes this place special, the value of this university, the value of this education, the value of playing football here — is really what attracts you and what keeps you here." NIL might not lead a sales pitch, but these days, it can't be absent ei- ther. Gauging a player and his family's interest in NIL now feels like an im- portant part of the evaluation process when recruiting to a place that won't be inclined to put NIL at the forefront of its pitch. Finding the top players who aren't evaluating options with NIL at top of mind and relentlessly pursuing them feels even more crucial. So does having something to point to when NIL becomes more of a conversation as the recruitment progresses. Notre Dame's NIL offerings include the FUND collective, though its lead- ers insist they're not interested in get- ting in the recruiting weeds. But it can still be an example of the opportuni- ties available. So can Mayer and former Irish safety Kyle Hamilton, who counted clothing deals among their individual NIL ventures. Maybe Freeman and his staff will conclude they can sell Notre Dame's NIL opportunities better. He seems unconcerned about them being unat- tractive, though. The 2024 recruiting cycle should reveal more about the ef- fectiveness of Notre Dame's NIL stance, for better or worse. "No matter what the important things are in recruiting, we have to make sure we're competitive," Freeman said. "NIL is important to some of these re- cruits, and we have to make sure we're competitive. I think we are. But we have to continue to look back and evaluate who we got, why we got them and why we didn't get certain guys." Whatever Freeman learns, his answer to losing out won't be to stop pursu- ing the players he didn't get but saw as fits. And he won't forget the wins while studying the losses. ✦ NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL 2023 SIGNEES Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Sullivan Absher OL 6-7 305 Belmont, N.C. (South Point) Jaiden Ausberry* LB 6-0 212 Baton Rouge, La. (University Laboratory School) Micah Bell CB 5-10 162 Houston (The Kinkaid School) Drayk Bowen* LB 6-1 232 St. John, Ind. (Andrean) Cooper Flanagan TE 6-5 239 Pleasant Hill, Calif. (De La Salle) Rico Flores Jr.* WR 6-0 177 North Highlands, Calif. (Folsom) Christian Gray* CB 5-11 176 St. Louis (De Smet) Jaden Greathouse* WR 6-2 200 Austin, Texas (Westlake) Brandyn Hillman ATH 6-1 191 Portsmouth, Va. (Churchland) Devan Houstan* DL 6-4 275 Mississauga, Ontario (St. James School) Charles Jagusah OL 6-6 300 Rock Island, Ill. (Alleman) Braylon James* WR 6-2 191 Round Rock, Texas (Stony Point) Jeremiyah Love RB 6-1 195 St. Louis (Christian Brothers) Kenny Minchey* QB 6-2 207 Hendersonville, Tenn. (Pope John Paul II) Ben Minich* S 5-11 185 West Chester, Ohio (Lakota West) Armel Mukam DL 6-4 250 La Prairie, Quebec (Woodberry Forest School) Joe Otting OL 6-5 271 Topeka, Kan. (Hayden) Sam Pendleton* OL 6-4 305 Lawsonville, N.C. (Reagan) Adon Shuler* S 5-11 197 Irvington, N.J. (Irvington) Kaleb Smith WR 5-11 170 Frisco, Texas (Reedy) Chris Terek OL 6-4 295 Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West) Boubacar Traore DL 6-4 250 Boston (Catholic Memorial) Brenan Vernon DL 6-4 250 Mentor, Ohio (Mentor) Preston Zinter* LB 6-2 215 North Andover, Mass. (Central Catholic) * Early enrollee