Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1489469
6 FEBRUARY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FAN FORUM FROM THE WEB During the early signing period Dec. 21-23, Notre Dame officially inked 24 recruits in the class of 2023. Despite losing a couple of verbally commit- ted players to other schools — five-star Denton (Texas) Guyer safety Peyton Bowen (Oklahoma) and four-star Lake Stevens (Wash.) High running back Jayden Limar (Oregon) — the Fighting Irish's haul was No. 8 in the country in the On3 Consen- sus team recruiting rankings. When the dust settled after the first day of the early signing period, Irish fans chimed in on how they would grade Marcus Freeman's first full re- cruiting cycle as head coach on our message board at BlueandGold.com. Koreasam: First off, I think he's recruiting with one arm tied behind his back. Notre Dame is put- ting restrictions on him regarding their stance on transfers and NIL that he won't be able to over- come. They're the apple to USC's oranges. With that said I give him a B-. The 5-stars he was in on, he couldn't close the deal. Edwards had 5-star speed, so I include him in the mix. This isn't him compared to [Brian] Kelly. It's him compared to [Alabama's Nick] Saban, [Georgia's Kirby] Smart, [Ohio State's Ryan] Day and even [LSU's] Kelly. He needed to knock this class out of the park. Kelly could at least say we were one of the few teams that made it to the playoffs twice since 2018 and were right there in 2021. With an- other 4-loss season (and it's very possible) what's the sales pitch to play ball at ND? t_money86: He landed [offensive tackle Charles] Jagusah, [running back Jeremiyah] Love, [linebacker Jaiden] Ausberry, [linebacker] Drayk [Bowen], [defensive lineman Brenan] Vernon. All 5-star players whether you think so or not. It's true. Also landed the best WR haul ND has had in who knows when. DB class of studs [Christian] Gray and [Micah] Bell. [Safety Adon] Shuler is crim- inally underrated and [athlete Brandyn] Hillman can fill Peyton [Bowen]'s loss as he himself is an absolute stud. Just an amazing class. NJNative140: Agree. Just wonder how long he can continue to recruit while dealing with the restrictions put on the FB program especially with the turnover in coaching staffs. Just hope he [stays] at ND especially if the OSU job opens up. undirish2202: I give him an A, high A. If he would have kept the class, then A-plus. It's still a great class and better than last year. I think 2024 will be the best yet. We have a bunch of speed and play- makers. Love is the crown jewel. He is going play in some capacity RB, slot, KR. TenaciousND: I would say A-, but I agree with tmoney (as usual) that I'm not sure he could have accomplished much more without a bankroll be- hind him. fedman: I give the guy an A. He would have gotten an A+ if he had landed some 5-star impact players — gives him something to work on going forward. Freeman is not recruiting at a place that has no high bars for admissions and buys players like Oregon, Texas A&M, Miami, etc. Thus, to give out a grade for recruiting at Notre Dame, you have to consider the hurdles that Freeman faces and has to overcome. I think getting a Blue Chip ratio over 80 percent, certainly qualifies for an A grade. Xray93: B. NighthawkNDfan69: A. GoldenJudge: Twice as much as Kelly. First-year/ time HC with an 8-4 season. He killed it. JTO: I will give it a grade when the class has had one season to mature. Then we will see if the trees bear fruit. IRISH WRAITH: A. Irishshaned: B for recruiting, but C-, maybe even a D, for coaching. Johnnyh: I would give him a B to a B+. Very solid class thus far. Charlestonirsih25: A-. The goal was top-5 recruit- ing. Didn't quite get there, but not exactly his fault. If they pull the 180 with Bowen, they'll be very close to top 5, and good enough for a solid A. If not for extenuating circumstances, I'd downgrade that to B+. FightinMike87: B+. Without a great WR class and OL class, plus straight up dudes on defense. Without [quarterback Kenny] Minchey, though, this probably feels like a C+ despite the talent they signed even with the late flips. They got their share of flips over the course of the cycle and will continue to do so. They had a positive +/- in the flip category over the past 5-6 years. It was bound to happen. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: sdowney@comanpub.com In his first full cycle as head coach, Marcus Freeman assembled Notre Dame's second straight top-10 class (No. 8 in 2023) — the first time the Irish have accomplished that since 2012-13. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER