2023 Class: Early Signing Period Preview, and prediction poll

[tneun89 978]

3 hours ago, JeffV said:

I'm resigned to the idea we lose both.  Bowen camp seems to be crickets.  The thing about Limar that strikes me is that McCullough had planned a late visit but canceled it, apparently??  That sounds like a serious communication breakdown - something to the effect of don't bother - 'you can't change my mind' or 'I need some space'.  He's a Duck.

Restating a lot of the above, but the RB roster isn't super deep, but it's talented.  Estime, Diggs, Tyree, Price, Payne, and Jeremiah Love is going to be a player (although not EE I don't think).

As to safeties, will hinge on Joseph some, but we have starter experience returning.  DJ Brown has a Covid year, right?  Watts, Henderson.  If we were counting on Freshmen, Schuler and Minich are both quality depth.  We wouldn't know Bowen would even beat them out unless we get to spring with all 3.  Some corners will be making the switch to safety, I bet, too.

It sounds like Limar is 100% flipping to Oregon. I think the RB room is fine - they don't need 8 guys in the room when only 2-3 get meaningful touches. The key is Price coming back fully healthy. If Tyree is on the team next year, I'd imagine he would move full time to the slot, while Diggs, Estime, and Price are the lead backs. Price was really impressive in camp, so he very well could be the starter next season if he's healthy.

As to Bowen, ND's outlook has improved since last week (he nearly cancelled ND's last in-home visit), but I would still have a hard time seeing him not end up at OU. I doubt he wants to publicly decommit to face all the backlash, so if he's flipping to OU, he will just announce on NSD. I don't think ND is completely out of it, but I would be borderline shocked if he signs with ND.

Safety is an issue where ND will need to grab a guy or two in the portal. Joseph hasn't announced, but he said his intention was to play here one year. He walked on senior day. He might be awaiting feedback from the NFL, but I would be really surprised if he comes back. I hope he does because that would really improve the outlook of the room. I think Watts starts, but not sure who the second would be. DJ Brown might leave, and Henderson has not been impressive at all during his time here, IMO. Think ND definitely needs to grab someone from the portal.

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

 

Now 4 CBs to OR (for Limar)... 

Even Sinclair now... He gone... 

Bowen still is 2 vs 2... 

[EddieAngel 508]

1 hour ago, OKelleyIrish said:

 

Now 4 CBs to OR (for Limar)... 

Even Sinclair now... He gone... 

Bowen still is 2 vs 2... 

Fingers crossed but I think Bowen is 0 percent Irish come Wednesday. This is a lesson for Marcus Freeman in recruiting though I am not sure what the lesson is. Obviously, it doesn’t matter how a big lead you open early, the game is won and lost in the 4th quarter. The smart schools know how to reel players in at the right time and when to bring out the bag. 
 

Of course this chaos could be a reaction to a rocky season but I suspect otherwise. I think unless ND is headed for the playoffs right now we wouldn’t keep Bowen and we never stood a chance with Keeley. 

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

12 minutes ago, EddieAngel said:

Fingers crossed but I think Bowen is 0 percent Irish come Wednesday. This is a lesson for Marcus Freeman in recruiting though I am not sure what the lesson is. Obviously, it doesn’t matter how a big lead you open early, the game is won and lost in the 4th quarter. The smart schools know how to reel players in at the right time and when to bring out the bag. 
 

Of course this chaos could be a reaction to a rocky season but I suspect otherwise. I think unless ND is headed for the playoffs right now we wouldn’t keep Bowen and we never stood a chance with Keeley. 

Haven't confidence in Bowen for a while. Just too much smoke for months. Had hoped that Limar stuck, but that bubble burst lol. 

Oh well. We'll be lucky if we finish in the top 10. Never had much confidence we'd finish in the top 3 though. All the rainbow pumpers aren't realistic IMO. Top 10 though is great. 

Overall, early 5 star kids are always risky. An early ND commit is a great "insurance" policy for kids who want to guard against senior injuries, or declining ratings. It is what it is. It will never change. 

I'm over Bown/Limar. My biggest concern is Carr sticking. Most important commit we've had in years. 

[EddieAngel 508]

34 minutes ago, OKelleyIrish said:

Haven't confidence in Bowen for a while. Just too much smoke for months. Had hoped that Limar stuck, but that bubble burst lol. 

Oh well. We'll be lucky if we finish in the top 10. Never had much confidence we'd finish in the top 3 though. All the rainbow pumpers aren't realistic IMO. Top 10 though is great. 

Overall, early 5 star kids are always risky. An early ND commit is a great "insurance" policy for kids who want to guard against senior injuries, or declining ratings. It is what it is. It will never change. 

I'm over Bown/Limar. My biggest concern is Carr sticking. Most important commit we've had in years. 

Agreed about Carr. Hopefully he is more of a Drayk Bowen and less of a Peyton Bowen.  Not to say Peyton is bad, just prefer the well known to the unknown.

[coltssb 1,044]

1 hour ago, EddieAngel said:

Fingers crossed but I think Bowen is 0 percent Irish come Wednesday. This is a lesson for Marcus Freeman in recruiting though I am not sure what the lesson is. Obviously, it doesn’t matter how a big lead you open early, the game is won and lost in the 4th quarter. The smart schools know how to reel players in at the right time and when to bring out the bag. 
 

Of course this chaos could be a reaction to a rocky season but I suspect otherwise. I think unless ND is headed for the playoffs right now we wouldn’t keep Bowen and we never stood a chance with Keeley. 

I hope he keeps at it unlike the old regime that after getting burned a few times just sat on their hands as if that’s as good as it gets. You never know who you can pull unless you try. If Freeman can consistently win recruits will come. Again, not worried. Freeman is putting in the work. 

[AnTostal 766]

I’m not really sure what importance class rankings have at this point. The portal has changed everything. Of course a team needs to land as many highly ranked players as they can on signing day. But being able to fill in gaps with players who have already made the adjustment to college life and who may already have meaningful game experience really does change a team much more than is reflected purely by NSD class rankings. 
Even if Bowen and Lamar fly the coup, I like this recruiting class a lot. Hopefully ND lands a very good QB as well from the portal. That would sure take the sting off losing one or both of those guys. 

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

37 minutes ago, EddieAngel said:

Agreed about Carr. Hopefully he is more of a Drayk Bowen and less of a Peyton Bowen.  Not to say Peyton is bad, just prefer the well known to the unknown.

I'm still surprised Carr didn't go the UM path. 

Hope that translates to Irish loyalty. 

But regardless, if his senior year is on the fire, teams will keep knocking on his door.

Lot of time before 2023 signing day lol..

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

19 minutes ago, AnTostal said:

I’m not really sure what importance class rankings have at this point. The portal has changed everything. Of course a team needs to land as many highly ranked players as they can on signing day. But being able to fill in gaps with players who have already made the adjustment to college life and who may already have meaningful game experience really does change a team much more than is reflected purely by NSD class rankings. 
Even if Bowen and Lamar fly the coup, I like this recruiting class a lot. Hopefully ND lands a very good QB as well from the portal. That would sure take the sting off losing one or both of those guys. 

The thing is... transferring to ND is hard (unless a grad)... so that makes recruiting even more important for us. 

[Jersey Irish 205]

On 12/19/2022 at 10:07 PM, OKelleyIrish said:

The thing is... transferring to ND is hard (unless a grad)... so that makes recruiting even more important for us. 

Amen to that! It will be very rare for ND to take an undergrad whose core courses don't match up with ND's.

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

On 12/20/2022 at 11:10 PM, Jersey Irish said:

Amen to that! It will be very rare for ND to take an undergrad whose core courses don't match up with ND's.

I'm good with #9 (now at least). Still a good class. :Perhaps we will find a late commit, or grad transfer. Just harder for underclassmen. I predicted early 7-10, and lately 8ish... So right on the money. I just hope we don't drop from top 10. Other teams aren't done. . 

 

[tneun89 978]

Barring a last second shock with Peyton Bowen (which would objectively be hilarious), ND's 2023 class is all set. They could try to land someone between now and NSD in February, but I'm not aware of any names.

ND sits at #9 in the 247 Composite Team Rankings.

If you go by average player rating, ND sits at #7:

1. Alabama (94.76)

2. Georgia (93.64)

3. Ohio State (93.57)

4. Texas (92.82)

5. Florida (92.34)

6. Miami (92.24)

7. Notre Dame (92.10)

8. LSU (92.01)

9. Oklahoma (91.43)

10. Oregon (91.00)

Obviously, Oklahoma will jump ND if/when Bowen commits. But still a solid class overall. I would give it a B+ but wouldn't go higher because ND missed on too many guys, including three 5-stars who were one time commits (Bowen, Keeley, Moore).

Freeman and Co have proven themselves to be great recruiters, but hopefully they get more support on the NIL front from the University going forward and hopefully they've learned some other lessons (i.e., don't let commits take 20 unofficial visits) along the way.

 

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

4 minutes ago, tneun89 said:

Barring a last second shock with Peyton Bowen (which would objectively be hilarious), ND's 2023 class is all set. They could try to land someone between now and NSD in February, but I'm not aware of any names.

ND sits at #9 in the 247 Composite Team Rankings.

If you go by average player rating, ND sits at #7:

1. Alabama (94.76)

2. Georgia (93.64)

3. Ohio State (93.57)

4. Texas (92.82)

5. Florida (92.34)

6. Miami (92.24)

7. Notre Dame (92.10)

8. LSU (92.01)

9. Oklahoma (91.43)

10. Oregon (91.00)

Obviously, Oklahoma will jump ND if/when Bowen commits. But still a solid class overall. I would give it a B+ but wouldn't go higher because ND missed on too many guys, including three 5-stars who were one time commits (Bowen, Keeley, Moore).

Freeman and Co have proven themselves to be great recruiters, but hopefully they get more support on the NIL front from the University going forward and hopefully they've learned some other lessons (i.e., don't let commits take 20 unofficial visits) along the way.

 

Bowen is a Duck.

I can see ND getting a 3 star or two, but doubt a 4/5.

But I do think other teams will improve and jump us. The late NSD guys... several 4 and 5 star guys left. 

[OKelleyIrish 1,198]

Digging some details on teams currently right behind him.

• #8 ND
  • 24, 279.94
  • potential adds / warm uncommitted prospects - 0 known
  • Note - wouldn't be surprised if we added one new guy, but have no idea who it would be.... 
• #9 Tennessee
  • 25, 277.39
  • PAs/WUPs- a few WRs. Chatter they will add at least one WR, if not 2. Might add a DL too.
  • Note - probably will jump us. Only 2.5ish pts behind us. One would do that. The win over Clemson probably push over the fence for one or two.
• #10 Clemson
  • 26, 275.47
  • PAs/WUPs - Might be done, but might take another RB. Took a unrated RB, but might flip guy that was high on KY. They are still looking for a WR too. 
  • Note - toss up here, but only 4pts behind. So a 3 or 4 star add will jump us.
• #11 Oregon
  • 27, 273.59
  • PAs/WUPs - Battling with UGA for for a 5 star TE from AZ. If UGA loses vs OSU, might help OR. And we know OR can pay lol... Also "warm" with another 5 star, and 2 4 stars... 
  • Note - Big class, and likely will get bigger. Likely will jump us. 
• #12 Florida
  • 20, 272.71
  • PAs/WUPs - Small class, and they are looking to add a few. Only 7pts behind us. CB for a 4 star, and a fav for 3 star. That's enough to pass us. Chatter that they will add at least 2, but probably 3-5. 
• #13 TAMU (18), #14 PSU (22), #15 USC (20)
  • All have small classes, will likely a couple, and are 265-267 right now. Any of them can jump us if they add 2. 
  • Note - TAMU is interesting (coaching situation). But PSU and USC play Monday. A win will help them. USC will certainly add one or multiple. Likely one of the 3 jump us.