Notre Dame Football: Position-by-Position Grades for 2016 Recruiting Class
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football hauled in the nation’s 15th-best recruiting class a few weeks, per 247Sports, filling a variety of needs with little drama.
Let’s go position by position and analyze the class, evaluating the job Notre Dame did in terms of filling holes and adding high-end talent.
The Irish, who have two tight ends committed in the class of 2017, did not ink a tight end in the 2016 cycle.
Quarterback
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Notre Dame did end up grabbing a quarterback in the class of 2016 when it flipped Ian Book from his Washington State pledge in early August.
Book, who hails from El Dorado Hills, California, is slotted as the No. 19 pro-style quarterback and No. 520 overall prospect in the country. The 3-star signal-caller joins a crowded quarterback room in South Bend, where DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire will jockey for the starting job with second-year quarterback Brandon Wimbush appearing headed for a redshirt year.
Book is far from the most highly touted quarterback in the class, but quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Mike Sanford spoke highly of Book on national signing day. He’s a solid addition.
Grade: C
Running Back
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The Irish pulled a pair of running backs out of Florida in Tony Jones Jr. and Deon McIntosh.
Jones is the No. 13 running back nationally and a 4-star prospect. The Bradenton product checks in at a bruising 5’10”, 216 pounds. Jones offers the Irish a power-back option.
The shiftier McIntosh is the No. 47 back in the country. The 3-star signee from Fort Lauderdale provides a nice complement to Jones’ style.
By adding two backs—each with a different style—Notre Dame did well at running back.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver
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Let’s get this out of the way: This position would sure look a lot different with Demetris Robertson, whose recruitment continues.
As for the three wideouts already signed, however, Notre Dame nabbed early enrollee Kevin Stepherson and 4-star prospects Javon McKinley and Chase Claypool. McKinley, the No. 16 receiver in the class, is the highest-ranked of the trio, while Claypool (No. 169 overall) boasts prodigious size at 6’5”, 205 pounds.
The Irish needed a solid crop of new receivers with Will Fuller, Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle exiting South Bend. While there’s no elite addition like Robertson (at least not yet) to headline the group, Stepherson, McKinley and Claypool form a nice trio.
Grade: B
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Offensive Line
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Is there an Irish assistant coach more trusted by the Notre Dame faithful than Harry Hiestand?
The offensive line coach added three more linemen to his unit. Despite the relatively low numbers—Kelly has already pointed to offensive line as a position of need in 2017—Hiestand and Co. added Tommy Kraemer, Liam Eichenberg and Parker Boudreaux.
Kraemer is the No. 3 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 27 overall prospect, while Eichenberg is pegged as the No. 7 tackle. The 3-star Boudreaux profiles on the interior.
Grade: A-
Defensive Line
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For our purposes, we’ll call Daelin Hayes a linebacker—for now.
That leaves Notre Dame with Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara and Adetokunbo Ogundeji joining the defensive line.
Kareem, an early enrollee who is already on campus, is the No. 9 strong-side defensive end in the class and the No. 189 overall prospect. The Irish list Kareem at 6’4”, 245 pounds. With nine months on campus, he could bulk up and become a factor in Notre Dame’s two-deep in 2016.
Okwara, the No. 24 weak-side end in the class, is less raw than the 3-star Ogundeji, who’s the No. 42 weak-side end. Notre Dame lists both players at 216 pounds.
Grade: B-
Linebacker
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Hayes is the highlight of Notre Dame’s entire defensive crop of incoming freshmen. The No. 10 outside linebacker in the country and No. 132 overall recruit is also an early enrollee, though he’s coming off shoulder surgery.
“He hasn’t really been able to weight train,” Kelly said on signing day. “He’s already a pretty big kid. He’s only going to get bigger. We just think that he has such a range of positions that he can play. We’re just going to kind of let it naturally happen. And where there’s an area that he can help us, I think we all know that getting after the quarterback would be a great start for him.”
Jamir Jones and Jonathan Jones round out the linebacking group. The undersized Jonathan is the No. 31 outside linebacker in the class. Jamir, the younger brother of Irish defensive lineman Jarron Jones, is the No. 72 outside ‘backer.
Hayes lifts this group up.
Grade: B-
Defensive Back
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The Irish couldn’t afford to miss on safeties in the 2016 cycle.
Instead, Notre Dame loaded up in the secondary, adding seven defensive backs, including early-enrollee safeties Devin Studstill and Spencer Perry—the No. 30 and No. 32 safeties in the class, respectively.
Troy Pride Jr. and Donte Vaughn are both 4-star cornerbacks, and 3-star prospects Jalen Elliott, Julian Love and D.J. Morgan add more much-needed depth at cornerback and safety.
The numbers are back up to healthy levels in the secondary, and these freshmen could fight for early playing time.
Grade: B+
Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting stats and information courtesy of 247Sports.com and all quotes were obtained firsthand. Star ratings reflect 247Sports composite rankings.
Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco on Twitter.
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