Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Notre Dame Receives Commitment From Deon McIntosh
By Andrew Hall
Deon McIntosh becomes the 18th commitment in the 2016 class
Cardinal Gibbons (Fla.) Running Back prospect Deon McIntosh verbally committed to the Fighting Irish coaching staff on Monday. He selected Notre Dame over the hometown squad Miami (Fla.).
The Cardinal Gibbons product stands at 5’11” and weighs in at 175 lbs. He hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
McIntosh received scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Duke, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (FL), Michigan State, N.C. State, North Carolina, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple, Tennessee, Utah State, Washington State, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The recruiting rankings do not match up with his offer list. The 247Sports Composite ranks McIntosh as the 757th prospect and the 47th Running Back in the 2016 class. With national powers Michigan State, Tennessee, Penn State and Notre Dame coming to the table with full-rides, it seems that the recruiting “experts” and college coaches are not seeing the same things.
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On film, McIntosh is an extremely elusive Running Back. At 5’11” 175 lbs., many would assume that he is not a powerful runner. Powerful may still not be the correct word but he runs through a lot of tackles. His elusiveness seems to make him a difficult target.
The Fort Lauderdale native is also adept at catching the football, a trait that is needed in the Irish offense. As fans can see on Saturday, Notre Dame Running Backs get the ball on jet sweeps, hand-offs, pitches, screens and split-out wide. They have to be able to do it all to play.
McIntosh will need to improve in two major areas at the collegiate level. First, McIntosh will need to run inside the tackles. He does have a few highlights going straight up the gut but the majority of his plays are outside runs. When he adds some more muscle to shield him from big hits, he should be an effective inside runner.
Second, McIntosh will need to pick up the blitz. He has no clips demonstrating that he can do this. However, this is not uncommon. Freshman Running Back Dexter Williams has struggled to get onto the field because of his inability to perform in pass protection.
Overall, Notre Dame landed a solid player who will be productive at the collegiate level. It adds depth to a talented group that will feature Tarean Folston, Josh Adams, Dexter Williams and Tony Jones Jr. in 2016. With his ability to catch the ball, it is not out of the question that McIntosh could play the slot position in college if needed.