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Notre Dame Football: The 2016 Defensive Recruiting Class

By Joshua Vowles

Sep 13, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mike Kasalo of South Bend, Indiana wears a hat with a miniature of the Notre Dame Golden Dome as he walks outside Lucas Oil Stadium before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Purdue Boilermakers. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 13, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mike Kasalo of South Bend, Indiana wears a hat with a miniature of the Notre Dame Golden Dome as he walks outside Lucas Oil Stadium before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Purdue Boilermakers. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State defeated Notre Dame 55-31. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State defeated Notre Dame 55-31. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Linebackers

Notre Dame increased its linebacker numbers by 3, but several of these prospects may end up being defensive lineman. There is no easy or nice way to say it, but the Irish left a lot of talent (a lot of highly ranked talent) on the “committed elsewhere” board, and most of that happened on signing day with Davis, McCulloch, and Kelly committing and signing to play with schools other than Notre Dame. Here’s what the Irish did sign:

  • Daelin Hayes 4****
  • Jonathon Jones 3***
  • Jamir Jones 3***

The path that Daelin Hayes took to get to Notre Dame was a bit of a strange one as he was once a USC commitment. The pass rushing linebacker has only played in a handful of games over the past 3 years due to injuries, and he could grow into a defensive end by the end of this fall. Still, the Irish will take any and all pass rushers that will help them win.

Jamir Jones makes yet another brother legacy for the Irish, but this one actually gets to play with big bro for at least one year. Jones is a lot like Hayes in that he may develop more into a pass-rushing end rather than a true linebacker. Jones has a lot of tools at his disposal, but has yet to really put it together which could be a good thing for the Irish staff to develop.

Jonathon Jones is a TRUE linebacker. Although his height may concern some at being only 6 foot, he has a nice frame and plays downhill for the crunch. This was a Michigan / Notre Dame battle so this has the extra sweetness of victory to it.

Overall

There is no way to put it nicely- Notre Dame missed a HUGE opportunity here. It wasn’t for a lack of effort though, as Notre Dame did all they really could to get Ben Davis, Caleb Kelly, and Jeff McCulloch to sign. Just one of those guys would have made this class really, really good while 2 of them would have made it an elite defensive haul. Still, the Irish landed some good talent and added to a fairly deep position on their roster already.

Next: Defensive Backs

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