Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2023 33 2023 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE class and the No. 4 quarterback, but Moore showed just how difficult of a catch he was in flipping his commit- ment from Oregon to UCLA in the last week before early signing day. Instead, the Irish reeled in Minchey, and it seems he's going to be a perfect fit. Minchey is the No. 17 quarterback in the class according to On3, and he's got a good build at 6-2 and 207 pounds. Notre Dame needed a quarterback in this class. But it didn't need to just aim- lessly throw at the board and hope a dart stuck. Minchey is locked in on the Irish, and he could have a bright future in South Bend. If he does, this'll end up being an "A" on the rundown of grades. Minchey gets to learn behind one of the most veteran quarterbacks in college football in Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman. Then he gets to mix it up with Tyler Buchner, Steve Angeli and CJ Carr in 2024. Minchey is a competitive quar- terback. He's entering a competitive en- vironment in South Bend. On Paper Grade: B- RUNNING BACK Signed: Jeremiyah Love of St. Louis Christian Brothers College Overview: This was an A+ just a few weeks prior to the early signing period Dec. 21-23. Notre Dame had three run- ning back commits in the class. Two of them, four-stars Dylan Edwards of Derby (Kan.) High and Jayden Limar of Lake Stevens (Wash.) High, ended up making other decisions. Edwards flipped to Colorado, and Limar signed with Oregon. For most classes, those would have been devastating blows. Not for Notre Dame. The Irish still secured a signing from Love, who is the No. 4 running back prospect in the country according to On3. The following grade takes into ac- count losing Edwards and Limar; it's not solely directed at Love, who could be an A+ talent in his own right. Receiving any iteration of an "A" in this category shows how good Love really is. A lot of classes would have been deemed utter failures for losing two players from an offensive skill position group so close to signing day. Notre Dame is going to be just fine. Love is an elite player, and he joins a group already headlined by veterans who are more than capable of carrying the load in ju- niors Audric Estime and Logan Diggs and senior Chris Tyree. Sophomore Jadarian Price could play a role coming off his Achilles injury, and classmate Gi'Bran Payne is also still in the picture. The Notre Dame running back room was simply too crowded for Edwards and Limar to reasonably sign with Love. Any of the three would have been suc- cessful signings for the Irish. It just so turned out, they reeled in the highest- rated recruit of the trio. On Paper Grade: A- WIDE RECEIVER Signed: Braylon James of Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point, Jaden Great- house of Austin (Texas) Westlake, Rico Flores Jr. of Folsom (Calif.) High and Kaleb Smith of Frisco (Texas) Reedy Overview: What a difference a year makes. Notre Dame's class of 2022 consisted of one wide receiver signee: Tobias Merriweather. This year's boasts four, and three of them (James, Greathouse and Smith) are from talent-rich Texas. The other, Flores, is from the high-pro- file state of California. Blue & Gold Illustrated named Irish wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey the program's recruiter of the year. It's an honor well earned. This class could to- tally rewrite the national perception of what Notre Dame does with wideouts. Head coach Marcus Freeman said he could see Greathouse and Flores play- ing right away. That didn't happen for Merriweather. It took him quite some time to be trusted to make the 41-yard touchdown catch he came away with versus Stanford Oct. 15. Then a con- cussion derailed his final month of the season. This wide receivers class is the equiv- Notre Dame signed four talented wide receivers, including Jaden Greathouse of Austin (Texas) Westlake. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER