Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 MARCH 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE on his 50 career catches with 13 scores is a consensus four-star pick. Summary: Business as usual at Tight End U. Notre Dame matches anybody collectively at this position. On Paper Grade: A Had Kmet not departed early for the NFL, there probably would not have been a need for either freshman to help extensively in 2020. There still might not be, but chances are at least one will find himself in the mix, even though neither enrolled in January. OFFENSIVE LINE Signed: Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody Meeting Needs: The lone lineman departing from the 2019 team is fifth- year senior guard Trevor Ruhland. Otherwise, all five starters from the beginning of the year are back. Augmented by this freshman tan- dem, there should be a full three teams (16 on scholarship) to work with in practice. This includes No. 2 senior center Colin Grunhard, who was awarded a scholarship in December. With that said, the Irish would have liked to sign at least one more lineman in this class. Among the early targets were four-stars Jimmy Christ (Penn State) and Peter Skro- nski (Northwestern), and the week prior to the December early signing period a late visit was made by Cali- fornia four-star prospect Jonah Mon- heim, who remained with USC. Kelly even indicated that if one more prospect had signed in Febru- ary, it would have been on offense. Summary: This is not about fresh- man impact at this position. Among the 43 offensive linemen signed by the Irish in the 12 years from 2008-19, 40 were redshirted. The three exceptions were Trevor Robinson (2008), Steve Elmer (2013) and Robert Hainsey (2017) — all of whom were early entrants in January. Neither Baker nor Carmody will be this season. The roster remains replete with top-100 to top-250 players that only a handful of programs can match. The issue centers more on whether a more consistent and dominant conventional ground attack can be achieved. On Paper Grade: B- Based more on quantity than qual- ity because both provide exceptional range and athletic skills. DEFENSIVE LINE S i g n e d : Ry l i e M i l l s , J o rd a n Botelho, Aidan Keanaaina and Alex- ander Ehrensberger Meeting Needs: The Irish wanted to ink four defensive linemen — two in the interior and two along the perimeter — to keep the rhythm they've had in recent years. Restock- ing the edge with Botelho and Eh- rensberger was important because Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara have exhausted their eligibility, and Ade Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes will be fifth-year seniors in 2020. Nose tackle Kurt Hinish also will be in his final season this fall. The 6-2, 229-pound Botelho was listed as a linebacker by many re- cruiting services, but he fits the mold of a Hayes or Ovie Oghoufo, who will transition to drop end. A couple of other prime targets were Braiden McGregor (Michigan) and Mitchell Milton (Ohio State) as ends. Summary: Under line coach Mike Elston, this position continues to pro- vide consistent recruiting rhythm, quality and development year after year. The rotation that Notre Dame has been able to implement the last cou- ple of years has paid off superbly. It showed in 2019 when Hayes and Okwara both suffered season-ending injuries, while Myron Tagovailoa- Amosa and Jayson Ademilola also were hurt late in the year, yet the defense continued to excel. On Paper Grade: B There isn't one supreme figure along the line, but there is bona fide depth and production across the board. LINEBACKER/ROVER Signed: None Meeting Needs: One could reason- ably argue that no position group should be left empty in a recruit- ing cycle. The rebuttal from Notre Dame's end is that the 2020 crew will have 10 linebackers with a minimum of two years of eligibility remaining. The development of four-star recruit Cody Simon (Ohio State), younger brother of current Notre The Fighting Irish nabbed another strong two-man haul at tight end, including Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic standout Kevin Bauman. The consensus four-star averaged 19.6 yards on his 35 receptions with 10 scores as a senior. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM