Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football: Mid-Season Recruiting Review

Disclaimer: I don’t proclaim myself to be a recruiting expert, but do try to follow it as much as possible. Everything presented here comes from public information, as I don’t have an insider membership to Scout, Rivals or any other recruiting service.

The Notre Dame-USC game is not only a big game for the success of each team on the field, but also to impress the highly touted recruits that will be in attendance on October 17. As of last count, there are about dozen high school seniors taking an official visit to South Bend along with several unofficial visits and high profile juniors.

Based on the number of high profile recruits that will be in attendance and the fact that the Irish coaching staff crisscrossed the nation during the bye week to see many of them play in person, I thought it might be appropriate to review where ND stands with regards to the incoming class of 2010.

Verbal Commits (Class currently ranked No. 15 by Scout, No. 11 by Rivals, not ranked in ESPN’s Top 15)

Note: Most physical stats listed are from Scouts.com

Offense

OG/OT: Christian Lombard, 6’5”, 280 lbs (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

WR: Daniel Smith, 6’4”, 205 lbs, 4.6 speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

TE: Alex Welch, 6’5”, 225 lbs (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

WR: Bennett Jackson, 6’1”, 170 lbs, 4.44 speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

QB: Andrew Hendrix, 6’3”, 220 lbs (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

QB: Tommy Rees, 6’3”, 192 lbs (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

RB/FB: Cameron Roberson, 6’1”, 215 lbs, 4.48 speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

Defense

DE: Chris Martin, 6’4”, 240 lbs, 4.65 Speed (Scout Five-Star, Rivals Five-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

DE: Blake Lueders, 6’5”, 250 lbs (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

CB: Lo Wood, 5’11”, 176 lbs, 4.55 Speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

S: Chris Badger, 6’1”, 192 lbs, 4.65 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

DT: Justin Utupo, 6’3”, 260 lbs (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

MLB: Kendall Moore, 6’2.5”, 229 lbs, 4.78 Speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

CB: Spencer Boyd, 5’10”, 175 lbs, 4.45 Speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Three-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

OLB: Prince Shembo, 6’2”, 225 lbs, 4.72 Speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

This group totals 15 right now, with a great balance between offense (seven) and defense (eight). Some key needs have been addressed already; three defensive linemen (two defensive ends, one defensive tackle), three in the secondary (two cornerbacks, one safety), two QBs, and a RB/FB more in the new mold that Charlie Weis has created this season.

However, there are still some big voids to fill. With a maximum of 10 scholarships left on the table for the 2010 class, their focus probably needs to be on two offensive tackles, another safety and some additional help on the interior of the defensive line.

Here is a list of who is visiting for the USC game:

Chris Martin, DE – Verabal Commit

Chris Badger, S – Verbal Commit

Kendall Moore, LB – Verbal Commit

Brandon Linder, OC – 6’6”, 290 lbs (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

Cody Riggs, CB – 5’9.5”, 165 lbs, 4.50 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

Gio Bernard, RB – 5’9”, 195 lbs, 4.50 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

Jordan James, RB – 5’10”, 190 lbs, 4.45 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

Marquis Flowers, S – 6’2”, 193 lbs, 4.40 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Three-Star)

Joshua Shaw, CB – 6’1”, 190 lbs, 4.50 Speed (Scout Three-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

Seantrel Henderson, OT – 6’8”, 301 lbs (Scout Five-Star, Rivals Five-Star, ESPN Five-Star)

Dietrich Riley, S 6’1”, 195 lbs, 4.50 Speed – (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star)

Corey Cooper, S – 6’2”, 203 lbs, 4.50 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Three-Star, Illinois Commit)

Tai-ler Jones, WR – 6’0”, 184 lbs, 4.50 Speed (Scout Four-Star, Rivals Four-Star, ESPN Four-Star, Stanford Commit)

Linder, Riggs, and Bernard are all high school teammates and go to St. Thomas Aquinas where current Irish Ben Turk, Jordan Cowart, Dan Wenger, and Sam Young all attended.

Seantrel Henderson attends Cretin-Durham Hall, same school that Michael Floyd attended and is one of the top recruiting targets for Weis and Company this year. There will be another eight Irish commits in attendance (not on their official visits) to help lure the undecided to ND.

Based on my opinion, the Irish will probably ink the following position players based on need come February: two offensive tackles, one additional offensive lineman, two to three in the secondary (safety is a bigger need right now), one defensive tackle, one wide receiver, one running back, and one linebacker.

Based on the on-field performance and the off-field experience, there could be several verbal commitments coming in the days after the game and well on there way to another top-10 class. I don’t doubt that the atmosphere will be electric on Saturday, so hopefully these young men will come away knowing what it means to be part of the Notre Dame family.