Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2020 23 2020 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Thus, to sign a four-star prospect such as Pyne is a success. He also is the first Notre Dame quarterback to enroll early in January for the spring semester since Malik Zaire in 2013. With Ian Book returning for his fifth season in 2020, and Phil Jurk- ovec transferring rather than serve a backup role a third straight year, Notre Dame will have three quar- terbacks on scholarship this spring, including current freshman Brendon Clark (recipient of the 2019 Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year) and Pyne. The Irish have not entered a spring with four recruited scholarship quar- terbacks since 2013: Everett Golson, Tommy Rees, Andrew Hendrix and Zaire — but Golson then was de- clared academically ineligible. (We are not including preferred walk-on quarterback Montgomery VanGorder placed on scholarship in 2014.) Clark and Pyne will vie for the No. 2 role this year to position them- selves as a frontrunner for the start- ing role in 2021, when Tyler Buchner joins the competition. The caveat remains that a non- freshman will likely transfer if he sees no path to starting by his sec- ond or, maximum, third year, a la Jurkovec. Summary: Notre Dame has had decent quarterback play during the 2010-19 decade under Kelly, with the best single season coming from then sophomore DeShone Kizer in 2015. What it has not had is a game- changing level where one declares, "He can be a Heisman finalist and first-round pick," the way the con- sistent College Football Playoff teams — Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma (and LSU in 2019) — have. On Paper Grade: B The 6-0, 181-pound Pyne would fall in a category similar to his pre- decessors: top-10 caliber with proper development, but not top of the heap. RUNNING BACK Signed: Chris Tyree Meeting Needs: Landing the top- of-the-board running back has pretty much eluded Notre Dame since 2013, when the late Greg Bryant was signed. That drought ended by reeling in Tyree, a bona fide top-100 prospect and one of the premier game-break- ers and speedsters in the nation. Because the Irish return at least five other running backs with various skill sets, no one else was seriously tar- geted after Tyree's commitment was secured. Summary: Numbers aren't a prob- lem in the 2020 Notre Dame backfield, but the questions center on durability and star power. Junior Jafar Armstrong has been touted as a potential lead back, but each of his last two seasons have been truncated by health setbacks. Under Kelly, the Irish do have a good his- tory of senior backs developing well (Gray in 2011, Theo Riddick in 2012, C.J. Prosise in 2015, Dexter Williams in 2018 and Tony Jones Jr. last season). At 5-9½, 179 pounds and a full high school track season ahead of him, questions about Tyree center on how well he can physically hold up, espe- cially his first season. Wideout Braden Lenzy had simi- lar speed and expectations his first season in 2018, but it took a full year before he was ready to handle a part- time role. Even as a high school senior at Thomas Dale High in Chester, Va., Tyree played in only nine games and had 71 carries for 655 yards. He did have 177 carries in 12 games as a ju- nior (for 1,446 yards), but we don't project him to become a bell-cow fig- ure out of the gate. On Paper Grade: A- Landing Tyree was immense, but it might be a stretch to expect him to eclipse Josh Adams' freshman school record of 835 rushing yards in 2015 even though Notre Dame returns no proven alpha figure at running back. WIDE RECEIVER Signed: Jordan Johnson, Xavier Watts and Jay Brunelle Meeting Needs: Graduating 2019 Team MVP Chase Claypool and slot receiver Chris Finke leave voids, and it's uncertain if Javon McKinley will return for a fifth season. The top returning wideout in 2020 could be Lawrence Keys III with 13 catches for 134 yards, although Lenzy snared 11 for 254 yards and two touchdowns. A crucial X-factor is a third sopho- more, Kevin Austin, coming back in good graces after serving a suspen- sion throughout the 2019 campaign. He did practice with the team and remained in school. The 6-2, 180-pound Johnson is the first five-star receiver to sign with Notre Dame since Michael Floyd in 2008. Last year the only two Notre Dame signed were a converted quarterback in Kendall Abdur-Rahman and Cam Hart — who was shifted to corner- back midway through 2019. Notre Dame did miss on two other top-100 prospects in Jalen McMil- lan (Washington) and A.J. Henning (Michigan). As a five-star figure, Johnson will be expected to help immediately. If Watts could contribute early on it would be a bonus, while Brunelle will be limited this spring because of shoulder surgery. Summary: Similar to running back, an opportunity to aid the relatively unproven corps is there for the tak- ing in 2020. On Paper Grade: B+ If Watts flourishes this spring, this could raise the grade higher. TIGHT END Signed: Michael Mayer and Kevin Bauman Meeting Needs: Tight end has be- come Notre Dame's Noah's Ark in recruiting with the way it has suc- cessfully recruited in twos. • In 2017, Brock Wright and Cole Kmet were both top-100 recruits signed by the Irish — and the top two overall in the Fighting Irish class. Kmet turned pro as a junior and con- ceivably could become a first-round pick this spring. • In 2018, the tandem of Tommy Tremble and George Takacs were redshirted, but Tremble burst onto the scene in 2019 with 16 catches that included four scores, plus an impres- sive 82.8 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. • Part of the reason no tight ends were signed in 2019 is Mayer and Bauman were committed early for the 2020 cycle. Like Kmet and Wright in 2017, both also were classified as potential top-100 prospects. The 6-5, 234-pound Mayer arrives as the highest-ranked tight end pros- pect (No. 31 overall by 247Sports and No. 36 by Rivals) at Notre Dame since Kyle Rudolph (No. 20 by Ri- vals) in 2008. His 49 catches in 2019 averaged 19.8 yards and included 15 touchdowns. Bauman, who averaged 18.8 yards