Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Elmer Enrolls Early
By Andrew Hall
Steve Elmer at a camp with Detroit Lions Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh. CREDIT: Twitter, Steve Elmer @Steve_Elmer
Steve Elmer
Offensive Tackle
4-Star
Midland, MI
Commitment Date: 09/27/2011
Elmer was the first player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2013 class. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He will play at either Left or Right Tackle in his Notre Dame career. He is physically ready to play now. The problem he will face with getting on the field early in his career will be three players ahead of him: Martin, Lombard and Stanley. However, there should be a spot in the two deep for a player who is physically prepared and is already enrolled at Notre Dame.
From the Slap the Sign Prospect Evaluation:
"Many recruiting nuts watched the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and you could see the solid performance from Steve Elmer the offensive tackle from Michigan. He was playing for the west squad and had a solid performance. You can get a decent idea of these recruits in these games since they are going up the best of the best. Elmer didn’t make any big mistakes and his footwork was one of the best out of all the offensive line. The use of his hands and blocking until the whistle are his best attributes. The technique of punch and recoil during pass blocking is key to not over step and lunge at an opponent, which Elmer does very well. Blocking to the whistle sounds so simple to many people, but this guy pancakes the end and goes to linebacker and sometimes even gets the strong safety. A 6’6’’ 305 pound lineman blocked three guys and one was about 15 to 20 yards downfield. Strength will be his first challenge and adjusting to the speed of the defensive ends at the college level. Elmer is an all-around lineman and the best one Notre Dame has in the 2013 recruiting class.The 4 star recruit is rated the 4th best offensive tackle and 56th best recruit in the nation. Coach Kelly stole this guy from Michigan and is the only top 10 recruit out of that state to not commit to Michigan or Michigan State. He has the size and weight for college football and runs a pretty fast 40 yard dash (5.02) for a lineman. Considering 3 starting offensive linemen will be graduating and leaving Notre Dame there are some spots that will be open, but not at tackle. Elmer is definitely a 2 or 3 year starter depending on what happens year to year, but if he does get any playing time next year it will likely be in a backup role."