No. 3-Ranked Notre Dame Class From 2013 Hit Hard By Attrition

Almost every February there is giddiness among blue-blood football programs regarding their most recent recruiting class, especially when ranked in the top 10, or even top five. That’s understandable and natural— yet one never truly knows what will transpire with it over the next four years.

Take the 24-man, No. 3-ranked haul signed by Notre Dame in 2013. Entering its senior year in 2016, only 15 players remain, meaning 37.5 percent of that group is gone.

The attrition especially is notable on defense, most recently with the announcement this spring that No. 2 weakside end Doug Randolph (originally recruited as a linebacker) is no longer cleared to play football because of a spinal condition. Like many others before him, Randolph has been placed on medical hardship status (he will be a student assistant for the team), which means he will remain on a general scholarship at Notre Dame while he finishes his undergraduate degree, but won’t count against the 85-scholarship limit in football.

In February 2013, Notre Dame signed three defensive linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs. Only four of those 10 players remain with the Irish defense as seniors:

Defensive Linemen: Jacob Matuska, Isaac Rochell and Eddie Vanderdoes

Five-star prospect Vanderdoes never made it to Notre Dame, enrolling instead at in-state UCLA. Matuska, who had seen limited action his first three seasons, was shifted to tight end this spring, where he will be the No. 4 option while replacing the in-line blocking of another former defensive lineman, Chase Hounshell, who made the switch last year.

Rochell has been a mainstay the past two years and it will be a surprise if he’s not a captain. Notre Dame’s staff this spring also moved three-year reserve offensive lineman John Montelus to defense this spring, but he will have a challenge ahead of him just to crack the two deep.

Linebackers: Michael Deeb, Doug Randolph and Jaylon Smith

Projected as a Mike linebacker, Deeb became a medical hardship case last year the way Randolph did this season. Five-star recruit Smith lived up to his billing and won the 2015 Butkus Award, leading to him declare early for the NFL Draft. However, his severe knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl would have precluded him from playing anyway for the Irish in 2016.

Fortunately, this unit benefitted from 2013 wide receiver recruit James Onwualu transitioning to Sam linebacker after his freshman campaign. The Irish have done well to still have six scholarship linebackers on the roster this spring, although two of them — junior Greer Martini and sophomore Te’von Coney — are sidelined while recovering from January surgeries.

Two other players who verbally committed to Notre Dame from the 2013 class ended up elsewhere: Alex Anzalone (Florida) and Danny Mattingly (Oregon).

Defensive Backs: Devin Butler, Rashad Kinlaw, Cole Luke and Max Redfield

Cornerback Kinlaw was removed from the team during the spring of his freshman year because of a disciplinary matter, and he transferred to ASA College (a junior college in Brooklyn, N.Y.). Butler has started several games at corner, but a foot injury has inhibited his progress, and numerous younger prospects this spring have an opportunity to round out the two deep at his position.

Like Rochell, Luke is the graybeard of the defense with 26 consecutive starts the past two seasons at corner. Five-star talent Redfield has started 23 times at safety, but he has had a roller-coaster career.

In addition to the dwindling numbers on defense from the 2013 class, that same group is without four members on offense that helped give it the lofty No. 3 ranking: five-star running back Greg Bryant (transferred to the University of Alabama-Birmingham because of academic ineligibility), two-year starting right guard Steve Elmer (graduating early because he is outstanding academically), All-American wide receiver Will Fuller (like Smith, an early entrant into the NFL Draft) and tight end Mike Heuerman (medical hardship, like Deeb and Randolph).

There are several morals to this story:

• What you sign in any given recruiting class is not necessarily what you will see on your roster four years later. Look at the No. 1-ranked defensive line harvest from 2011 with Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, Ishaq Williams, Troy Niklas, Tony Springmann and Hounshell. None was with the team as seniors in 2014 for various reasons.

• Football is a tough, violent sport. Attrition through injury is inevitable, and many of the best players want to get paid for it by leaving early (Fuller and Smith) for the NFL, knowing their is a finite amount of time to cash in. Some might even seek other opportunities, the way Elmer did, if not lose their passion for the game.

• It is a fine testament to the current staff’s ability to keep the current operation in the top-10 to top-15 discussion with consistent recruiting for the most part in all areas to compensate for the inevitable setbacks that occur via academics, transfers, injuries and early departures.

Click here to start your subscription | Already a registered user? Start here.