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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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Apr 18, 2015; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive backs coach Todd Lyght signals to his players in the second quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at the LaBar Practice Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2015; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive backs coach Todd Lyght signals to his players in the second quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at the LaBar Practice Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive Backs

Notre Dame was in a “must get” situation with this group in terms of both talent and numbers and they pretty much nailed it in both categories.

  • Troy Pride Jr. 4****
  • Donte Vaughn 4****
  • Jalen Elliott 3***
  • DJ Morgan 3***
  • Julian Love 3***
  • Devin Studstill 3***
  • Spencer Perry 3***

Pride and Vaughn were national recruits and bring a ton of physicality to the Irish. Vaughn is listed as a cornerback and at 6’3″ he could play safety- or just be one of the biggest corners in the nation. The latter is what the ideal choice would be for Notre Dame. Pride was coveted by Clemson and South Carolina and may be one of the most athletic players in this class.

Jalen Elliott reminds me of another CJ Prosise if only because he is from Virginia and could play either WR or safety (both of which Prosise played at Notre Dame). Elliott played quarterback in high school and has a lot of leadership qualities as well. DJ Morgan and Devin Studstill are two other potential safeties and as a pair could play strong and free respectively.

Julian Love is a prototypical cornerback with great quickness and ball awareness and Spencer Perry has been mentioned as a safety that could grow into a speedy outside linebacker.

Overall

This is a great haul for Notre Dame. The Irish felt the sting and burden of losing numbers across the secondary as the season wore on last year. Once you add this group with the other fairly young players already in the Notre Dame secondary, you have all the makings of competition choosing the starters instead of coaches- which is always preferred.

Next: Next Recruiting Cycle

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