Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 71 FOOTBALL RECRUITING the roster, and the Irish landed an im- pressive group of five. It was a pleasant surprise when Cody (Wyo.) High safety Luke Talich picked the Fighting Irish. He had scholarship offers from Oregon State, Utah, Wash- ington State, Wyoming, Colorado State and other Division I programs. While Marcus Freeman was out on the road recruiting in January, he made a trip to Wyoming for a home visit with Talich. It's almost unheard of for a head coach to visit with a walk-on recruit. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Talich end up on scholarship at Notre Dame. "I had great opportunities at the schools that offered me, but I knew that if I would've gone to one of those places, I would've thought, 'What if I would've tried Notre Dame?' I didn't want to live with that regret," Talich told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "So, I wanted to give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. But at least I can say that I tried. "I didn't want to have the regret of going somewhere else and know that I had the opportunity to attend a school I always dreamed of going to." Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Brother Rice tight end Henry Garrity, the son of former Irish men's basketball player Pat Garrity, also picked Notre Dame over other Division I offers. The 6-4, 205-pounder had Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Illinois State, Army, Air Force, Navy, Connecticut and others in pursuit of him. 247 Sports lists Gar- rity as a three-star prospect. Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Pine Crest athlete Jordan Faison held a scholar- ship offer to play football at Iowa before picking the Irish. The Rivals' two-star prospect is also expected to play on the Irish lacrosse team. Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West's Mar- cello Diomede picked the Irish over Air Force and will bolster Brian Mason's kicker room. Louisville (Ky.) St. Xavier long snap- per Andrew Kros will also join the Notre Dame roster this summer. ELITE NOTRE DAME RECRUITS DRAW NFL COMPARISONS Comparing high school football re- cruits to NFL players is meant to be sty- listic in nature, not a career projection. No one is saying a certain prospect will be the next Tom Brady. It's about giving fans an idea of what types of skill sets their favorite college football pro- gram is adding with new recruits. Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman five-star offensive tackle Charles Jagusah com- pares favorably to former Iowa and cur- rent Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs, who was a first- round selection in 2020 NFL Draft. "Jagusah's physical dimensions, fluid- ity and multi-sport background reminds us of Wirfs," On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power noted. "Both also come from similar geographic areas — Jagusah lives on the Illinois and Iowa border in Rock Island, Illinois. Wirfs is from Mount Vernon, Iowa, just 73 min- utes west of Rock Island. "Jagusah plays on both sides of the ball as an offensive and defensive line- man, as Wirfs did. The coordination, balance and smooth movement patterns are also similar." As a seventh-round draft pick and rookie, former Iowa State signal-caller Brock Purdy helped lead the San Fran- cisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game. Power compares Henderson- ville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II's Kenny Minchey to Purdy. "Minchey's compact build and abil- ity to make improvisational plays from within the pocket remind us of Purdy," Power noted. "Minchey is taller than Purdy, while Purdy was more produc- tive and more of a run threat at the high school level." Austin (Texas) Westlake receiver Jaden Greathouse drew comparisons to former Purdue wideout David Bell, a third-round NFL Draft pick in 2022 by the Cleveland Browns. "Greathouse is a thick, savvy receiver with a basketball background and high- end production," Power noted. "His physical characteristics and skill set as a reliable, technically sound and physi- cal receiver who may not blow you away with speed reminds us of Bell. "Greathouse is a bit heavier and a touch taller than Bell at the same stage." ✦ 2023 National Signing Day By The Numbers 2 Top-100 recruits, per the On3 Consensus, in Notre Dame's 2023 class: Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman offensive tackle Charles Jagusah (No. 53) and St. Louis Christian Brothers College running back Jeremiyah Love (No. 77). The Fighting Irish also have three recruits ranked between 101-150 and four between 151-200. That's nine total players in 2023 that rank inside the top 200 following the first full recruiting cycle that rookie Irish head coach Marcus Freeman oversaw, down slightly from the 11 top-200 players who signed in 2022. 5 Offensive line recruits — the most of any unit — for Notre Dame. They were brought into a posi- tion group the Fighting Irish rarely fail to reload with in both quality and quantity. The Fighting Irish welcomed in four wide receivers and four defensive linemen, the other two most well-represented position groups. 9 Was the number of recruiting cycles that passed since the last time Notre Dame landed consecu- tive top-10 recruiting classes, per the On3 Consensus, until this year. The 22-man Fighting Irish class of 2022 checked in at No. 6 nationally while Notre Dame's 24-man haul in 2023 finished at No. 9. Former head coach Brian Kelly put together his best class in 2013, a 23-man haul led by five-star linebacker Jaylon Smith that ranked No. 4. A year later, high four-star offensive lineman Quenton Nelson headlined a 22-man group that was ranked No. 10. 644.6 Miles was the average distance from the hometowns of Notre Dame's recruits to South Bend. Four-star linebacker Drayk Bowen from is the only Indiana player in the class, while others come from California in the West, Louisiana in the Deep South, and New Jersey and Massachusetts in the Northeast. For comparison sake, Alabama's 28 recruits average 340.7 miles from home and Georgia's 26 players average a 466.5-mile trip to school. In all, this Notre Dame recruiting class is built from 14 different states. 4,035 Career receiving yards — the 15th most all time in Texas high school football history — for Notre Dame wide receiver signee Jaden Greathouse at Austin (Texas) Westlake. He became the school's all-time leader in receiving yards, receptions (232) and touchdown catches (53), helping it post a 58-2 record while winning three state championships (2019-21). — Todd D. Burlage