Notre Dame Recruiting Class Review: 2015
The previous two weeks we had counted down Notre Dame’s 10 best football recruiting classes since the end of World II. What was a little disheartening was that the most recent group to make the list came all the way back in 1990 (No. 2), one that included more than a dozen future NFL players, and a record five drafted in the first round (Jerome Bettis, Tom Carter, Bryant Young, Aaron Taylor and Jeff Burris).
In the last of our four-part series reviewing and assessing the current classes at Notre Dame, we look at the group signed in February 2015..
THE 2015 RECRUITING CLASS
Players Signed: 24, but two are no longer with the team.
Rivals Class Ranking: No. 11
The Main Ones Who Got Away: Two players who had originally committed verbally to Notre Dame at one point ended up signing elsewhere: quarterback Blake Barnett (Alabama) and safety Prentice McKinley (Oklahoma). The Irish heavily pursued linebacker Justin Hilliard, who chose Ohio State, but graded out well at the position overall.
The main disappointment was it needed to get a couple more safeties. Ben Edwards and Frank Buncom IV both opted for Stanford, and in the 11th hour the Irish also missed on Nathan Meadors (UCLA), Justin Reid (Stanford) and Arrington Farrar (Wisconsin).
Players No Longer With Team: Two. Defensive end Bo Wallace never made it to Notre Dame and ended up at Arizona State, the fourth straight year that a recruit departed before his football career even began, despite signing with the Irish. The others were cornerback Tee Shepard (2012), defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (2013) and linebacker Nile Sykes (2014).
Also, late in the year receiver Jalen Guyton was suspended from all football activities, was not even at the Football Awards show, and reportedly is seeking a transfer.
WHO SIGNED IN 2014
Quarterback: Brandon Wimbush
Running Backs: Josh Adams, Dexter Williams
Receivers: Equanimeous St. Brown, CJ Sanders, Miles Boykin*, Jalen Guyton*
Tight End: Alize Jones
Offensive Line: Tristen Hoge*, Trevor Ruhland*
Defensive Line: Jerry Tillery, Micah Dew-Treadway*, Elijah Taylor*, Brandon Tiassum*, Bo Wallace*
Linebackers: Te’Von Coney, Asmar Bilal*, Josh Barajas*
Cornerbacks: Nick Coleman, Shaun Crawford*, Ashton White*
Safeties: Nicco Fertitta, Mykelti Williams*
Kicker: Justin Yoon
* Denotes that he is eligible for a fifth season in 2019
IMPACT
There was much more freshman presence in the lineup than anticipated, in part because of a plethora of injuries. On offense, Adams set the single season freshman rushing record at Notre Dame with 835 yards while averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Jones took 239 snaps at tight end (36 in the Fiesta Bowl) and easily led the corps in catches with 13 for 190 yards.
On defense, the regular season ending injury to nose guard Jarron Jones led Tillery — originally projected to be Ronnie Stanley’s heir at left tackle — to split snaps with sophomore Daniel Cage. Tillery ended up with 351 snaps, despite being suspended for the Fiesta Bowl, while Cage had 262. Crawford was in line to be the No. 1 nickel, but an ACL tear during an August practice ended his campaign.
On special teams, Yoon earned Freshman All-America notice from Sporting News while converting 15-of-17 field goals (long of 52), while Sanders became the first Irish player to return both a punt and a kickoff for a TD in a season since Vontez Duff in 2002.
BALANCE
This class has no defensive ends (a vital need) nor an offensive tackle, and it needed more help at the safety position in that recruiting cycle. The Irish are always capable of landing more than two offensive linemen in any given recruiting campaign, but the shift of Tillery to defense left it a little short in that area.
Otherwise, the overall balance is pretty good on both sides of the ball to go with special teams aid. Notre Dame needed to be proactive with this recruiting class because the chances of linebacker Jaylon Smith and receivier Will Fuller turning pro after their junior seasons were pretty high. They did indeed, which is why figures such as Sanders, St. Brown and Boykin at receiver , plus Coney, Bilal and Barajas at linebacker are needed to be ready perhaps a little ahead of their time in 2016.
DEPTH
The nucleus of this class was established with figures such as Adams, Jones, Tillery and Yoon last year. What will determine how good it can become is how much people at vital need areas emerge, preferably sooner than later, because of 10 Notre Dame players at this year’s NFL Combine:
• Can either Coney (recovering from shoulder surgery), Bilal or Barajas, who arrived a little too thick last year, establish himself on a rebuilding linebacker corps?
• There is tremendous excitement from the coaching staff regarding St. Brown’s capabilities at receiver. But he can he make as meteoric a rise from freshman to sophomore year the way Fuller did (St. Brown caught only one pass in 2015)? How about Sanders helping replace Carlisle at slot, or Boykin competing with student body president Corey Robinson at the boundary position?
• Wimbush, according to head coach Brian Kelly, will redshirt as a sophomore while junior DeShone Kizer and senior Malik Zaire vie for the starting QB role. Will he have the composure to patiently develop and wait his turn?
• Can any of the developmental players along the defensive line, other than Tillery, supply a quality 15-20 snaps per game as sophomores, a la Cage last season, to supply a better rotation and not prompt fatigue at the end of the season among the starters?
• Can either Mykelti Williams or Fertitta provide consistent help at the maligned or troubled safety spots?
• Will Crawford recover well enough from his ACL surgery to immediately return to his August form that caught the staff’s attention?
These are just a few of the major inquiries that will play a huge factor that will determine the legacy of this group.
SUMMARY
For now this class seems to be a cross of the highly esteemed 2013 harvest (ranked No. 3 by Rivals at the time) that will be seniors in 2016, and the “complementary” 2014 haul that features less star power. It doesn’t appear as strong all-around as the one in 2013, but ostensibly appears to have more oomph to it than 2014 (although both 2014 and 2015 were ranked No. 11).
It’s premature to discuss impact of any class when it is heading into only its sophomore year. A popular axiom among coaches is “if a dog is going to bite, he’ll start doing it as a pup.” There was some bite to the 2015 recruiting class last year, and much more will be needed in 2016 if the Irish are to be in Playoff conversation again come Thanksgiving weekend.