Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 JANUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2 0 2 4 E A R L Y S I G N I N G D A Y BY JACK SOBLE AND MIKE SINGER N otre Dame's recruiting and coaching staff went nuts when they landed Madden Faraimo, the No. 15 linebacker in the country per On3. The Irish won a battle with USC for Faraimo's commitment on the first day of the early signing period. However, general manager Chad Bowden made sure to remind reporters at his signing day press conference that it's like that for every commitment. "In recruiting, everyone cares so much about what happens at the end, they forget about what we have done before that," Bowden said. "We have an unbelievable class. I love this class." Fifteen of Notre Dame's 25 signees are ranked outside On3's top 300 nation- ally. Particularly before Faraimo, from the outside looking in, it might be con- sidered an underwhelming class. But that's not how the Irish see it. "I'm very direct with our coaches and our recruiting staff to find the right fit and trust our evaluations," Freeman said. "I don't know if you would have looked at last year's class and said that Anthonie Knapp and Leonard Moore were the top-rated guys. Kyngstonn [Viliamu-Asa] was one of the top-rated guys, but those guys are contributing mightily for us right now." This is one of Freeman's core philoso- phies on the recruiting trail: Trust your evaluations. And this coaching staff (at some positions more than others) had earned credibility on that front with players like Knapp and Moore. When Notre Dame evaluates pros- pects, Freeman explained, it prefers to do so in person. That's why camps such as Irish Invasion are critical for the re- cruiting process. "There's nothing more crucial than a live eval," Freeman said. "That's some- thing that I feel strongly in. We want to see him play live, see him practice live, see him work out live." You can learn a lot about a player's competitiveness in person, according to Freeman. They can't hide movement skills, either. "We want to see you compete," Free- man said. "We want to coach you. I think that's so important when you're looking for bringing in recruits to your program." OFFENSIVE LINE CLASS ADDS ELITE TACKLES One player Notre Dame evaluated at Irish Invasion this summer was then- three-star center Cam Herron. Freeman and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph liked him, but they didn't know if they had room for a center in the class. Then Rudolph saw him play in person at Indianapolis Warren Central. "He's in our state," Freeman said, "and I do not want to play against this guy one day. We need him to be a part of this team." Offensive tackles Will Black, Matty Augustine and Owen Strebig were of- fered after camps, too. As Freeman re- calls it, Notre Dame offered them before their recruitments took off — particu- larly with Black, who is now a five-star prospect and the No. 2 overall player in America per On3. The Irish wanted tackles in the class, and they believe they have three of the best. Notre Dame has a good case for "O- line U," and it took Herron away from the other school with a good case for that (Iowa). With the emergence of Knapp at left tackle, all of a sudden, the offensive line room might have the most young talent on the Irish. "I think Coach Rudolph does the best job in the country recruiting offensive linemen," Bowden said. "We have noth- ing but trust and respect for his evalu- ations and how he sees things. He felt those were the best guys in the country, and we went out and got them." The Fighting Irish won a recruiting battle with USC when they surprised many by landing Madden Faraimo, the No. 15 linebacker in the country per On3, at the beginning of the early signing period. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 ON3 INDUSTRY 2025 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Dec. 10 Rk. School Commits 1. Texas 25 2. Oregon 21 3. Alabama 22 4. Georgia 28 5. Ohio State 26 6. Auburn 25 7. LSU 23 8. Texas A&M 25 9. Michigan 23 10. Tennessee 26 12. Notre Dame 25 'AN UNBELIEVABLE CLASS' Marcus Freeman and his staff are fired up about Notre Dame's 2025 haul