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Notre Dame football adds four-star DT to class of 2017

By Greg Hadley

Nov 28, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leads his team onto the field against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Stanford won 38-36.Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leads his team onto the field against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Stanford won 38-36.Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame football continued to rack up top recruits for its class of 2017, as four-star defensive tackle Darnell Ewell committed to the Irish on Friday.

Ewell announced his decision at Lake Taylor HS, where he still has one more season, picking the Irish over other finalists Clemson, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State. According to 247Sports.com, Ewell is Notre Dame’s 11th four-star recruit for the class of 2017, and the third to commit in the past week.

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Ewell’s commitment is especially significant as he was one of the top talents available at his position. 247Sports has him rated as the ninth best defensive tackle in his class, and when you watch his highlight reel, it’s not hard to see why.

Like the very best defensive tackles, Ewell can turn the center of the line into a black hole, taking on multiple blockers at once and still fighting through to make tackles on runs up the gut. Physically, he’s big but certainly not overwhelmingly large, somewhere in between Sheldon Day and Jerry Tillery. He is quick though, and can juke past offensive linemen very well.

All in all, no matter how talented Ewell is, he will still face stiff competition for playing time if and when he comes to Notre Dame for the 2017 season. Tillery will still be entrenched at tackle, Daniel Cage will be a senior at nose guard, and 2016 recruits Khalid Kareem and Daelin Hayes look like they have bright futures at the end positions.

If that does happen, there’s always the possibility that Ewell will switch sides and play offensive line, where he has experience and top-level talent as well. Remember how Tillery came to Notre Dame as an offensive lineman?

Next: 2016 Notre Dame defensive line looks to improve

For Brian Kelly and defensive line coach Keith Gilmore, Ewell’s commitment is a testament to Notre Dame’s growing ability to attract top defensive talent to match its recent run of success on the offensive line. It also pushes ND’s 2017 class to the top of the rankings, as 247Sports now has the Irish in the top 5 nationally, and Scout has them at No. 2.

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