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Irish Invasion adds potential to Notre Dame defense

By Walt Kosin

Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly talks to his players as they prepare to take the field for the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly talks to his players as they prepare to take the field for the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Fighting Irish just completed the Irish Invasion, one of the best recruiting tools the Irish have. There were over 80 players attending and all were in the classes of 2017, 2018, and even some from the class of 2019.

Notre Dame received two huge defensive commitments during the weekend: DE Jonathan MacCollister and cornerback Saiid Adebo.

Jonathan MacCollister is a 6’4″, 250-lb. defensive end from Bishop Moore High School in Orlando, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports, Scout and Rivals which sounds low considering he had offers from 40 schools. Among the schools that Notre Dame beat out are Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Michigan State, UCLA, Oregon, Utah and Virginia Tech.  MacCollister is from the same high school as incoming Parker Boudreaux and was one of the reasons he committed to Notre Dame. MacCollister was recruited as the strong side defensive end, the position held by senior Isaac Rochell. He is powerful and quick. With his versatility, he could also be used to play the three technique position.

MacCollister said his parents were impressed with assistant coach Autry Denson. They appreciated how honest Denson was with them and they really loved the family atmosphere at Notre Dame.

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Adebo was the second defensive commit from this past weekend. He is a consensus four-star player who chose Notre Dame over Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas, Oregon, and Oklahoma State among others. Adebo not only played cornerback in high school, but was also a wide receiver. In his junior season, he caught 41 passes for 730 yards and 11 touchdowns.  On defense, he had 50 tackles and five interceptions. Adebo possesses great size for a cornerback, which Notre Dame likes, but his calling cards are his speed and ball skills. He has the potential to be a great cornerback at Notre Dame.

In looking at both MacCollister and Adebo, Notre Dame has two recruits with great potential. In the last few years, Notre Dame’s offense has been better than the defense. The Fighting Irish really need to recruit better defensive players and in recruiting MacCollister and Adebo, Notre Dame has begun the process. Notre Dame’s future defenses are looking brighter with these two players.

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