Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/941859
20 MARCH 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE After the receiving corps this winter lost junior Equanimeous St. Brown (early entry into NFL), junior C.J. Sand- ers (graduate transfer) and sophomore Kevin Stepherson (dismissed), the Irish targeted a f o u r t h w i d e o u t a n d landed Keys. Goal ac- complished. Several other Notre Dame targets in the closing weeks signed elsewhere, most notably five-star Florida offen- sive tackle Nick Petit- Frere with Ohio State. Tw o o t h e r s N o t re Dame eyed during the c l o s i n g w e e k s w e re C a l i f o r n i a f o u r- s t a r l i n e b a c k e r S o l o m o n Tuliaupupu (USC) and Virginia three-star de- fen siv e en d Derrick Eason (North Carolina State). QUANTITY & QUALITY Wi t h t h e h u g e closing rush, Notre Dame's total scholar- ship count is, by Blue & Gold Illus- trated's count, at 89. It does not have to be at the NCAA limit of 85 until August. "We're comfortable where we are," Kelly said. "I don't know that we'd go into this blindly without a plan. … We'll be at 85 when the school year starts." Most gratifying to Kelly about this class was bringing in a potential im- pact quarterback in Phil Jurkovec, filling the defensive side of the board with quantity and quality in the sec- ondary and at linebacker, and add- ing a four-man wide receiver class to replenish the depth there. In his nine recruiting campaigns at Notre Dame, the Irish head coach believes the seven-man secondary corps and four-man receiving group might be his strongest. Augmenting the pass-catching corps is Jurkovec. The only QB re- cruit under Kelly who came in with a higher rating from Rivals was in 2012 with Gunner Kiel, who transferred to Cincinnati after his freshman year. "Any time that you're able to con- tinue to bring in — in our eyes — a quarterback that you believe can be a great player, that's an exciting piece," Kelly said. "Quarterback, addressing needs throughout our program, the pro- cess, and then the back end of our de- fense, and certainly the wide receiver position, those are things that really stand out to me." Specific position groups where Notre Dame was not rated as highly are the offensive line, running back and defensive end. None of the four offensive line re- cruits ranked among the Rivals250, which is unusual, and the same ap- plied at running back. The Irish have only one defensive end from last year's class (Kofi Ward- low, who redshirted as a freshman), and signed only one this season as well in Justin Ademilola, who has played mostly in the shadow of his twin brother Jayson, a defensive tackle. Defensive end is a pivotal game- changing position with its potential at pass pressure and will be a prior- ity in the 2019 cycle. The Irish must thrive there next year the way they did in 2016 when they signed Daelin Hayes, Ju- lian Okwara, Khalid Ka- reem and Ade Ogundeji. Attrition will inevi- tably occur before next August — and will have to in order to get to 85 players. Thus, Kelly and his staff continued to push aggressively for prospects even if it meant going over the 85 total for now. Also, the 9-12 team record in November since 2013 is not lost on the staff. Quality depth is imperative beyond just the first 22 players on offense and defense. That type of depth could potentially help Notre Dame keep from run- ning on empty again in November. "We need to get better from 65 to 85 — that 65th scholarship to the 85th scholarship," Kelly said. "This will strengthen our football team at that area, which sometimes goes unnoticed in the length of your season. "We have to play better football in November, and that's my job. And part of this recruiting class is going to address some of those needs in November." TOP-10 FRINGE This marked the third time in the last five years Notre Dame's recruit- ing class was ranked No. 11 by Ri- vals, joining the 2014 and 2015 hauls. The 2016 group (who will be ju- niors in 2018) was No. 12, and last year's harvest was No. 13. Generally over the past five years ESPN and 247Sports also have had the Irish in the top-10 to top-15 range. This year, ESPN listed Notre Dame No. 9 after ranking it No. 16 last year, while 247Sports rated Notre Dame No. 10 this campaign after a No. 13 ranking in 2017. The lone Power 5 school this year that signed more than Notre Dame's 27 was UCLA with 28. Rivals' No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State had 26 apiece, while No. 4 Texas also had 27. At least one reason why Notre Dame wasn't rated higher was the Head coach Brian Kelly was pleased with Notre Dame's hauls at wide receiver and defen- sive back during this recruiting cycle. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN