Notre Dame Football Recruiting: What will Michael Carmody bring to South Bend?

Notre Dame football capped off a big weekend on the recruiting front by landing an elite offensive lineman.

2020 offensive lineman Michael Carmody made it official this weekend and committed to Notre Dame football publicly. If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you watch Irish basketball. His brother plays for Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish hoops team, and that was a big reason Notre Dame was always such an important offer for Michael.

He’s been to campus numerous times and came back this weekend for a visit, which was clearly the icing on the cake for his recruitment. He waited a long time for the Irish offer to come, and when it finally did a few months, back it seemed all but locked up for Notre Dame. He loves everything the Irish have to offer and his familiarity with the school and environment definitely helped a ton. He will now head to South Bend and get to share that experience with his brother for his college career.

https://twitter.com/michaeltcarmody/status/1140370830427394049?s=20

Carmody holds offers from 24 school including Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Penn State. He also has been selected as a Polynesian Bowl All-star.

What will Carmody bring to South Bend?

The 6’6″, 290-pound offensive lineman will bring athleticism to South Bend. He’s a multi-sport player — a really good basketball player — and has great size.

Because of his athleticism, he moves well when getting to the second level of the defense and is solid when it comes to run blocking because he gets off the ball so quickly. He doesn’t give much up in pass protection once he gets his hands on his opponent. I’d categorize him as a mauler, specifically in the run, game because he is constantly looking for contact and has a high level of aggression with a motor that never seems to stop.

I think he could excel at multiple positions along the offensive line, but I would like to see him get a good look at tackle because of his size, length and his quick feet. He does need to get stronger in his upper body and be a tad more balanced on his feet. That should come easily once he gets into the strength program, because he has the frame to add a ton of size and strength.

The 2020 class now has 13 commits — eight on the offense and five on defense. I could see the Irish staff holding off on adding anymore lineman for the remainder of this class, as the 2021 class already has a ton of elite talent in the trenches.

Obviously they could and might take another lineman, but I don’t know if it would be worth it this cycle unless he was an elite prospect. Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn has done a hell of a job on the recruiting trail and he continues to add to the “OLineU” tradition in the 2020 and 2021 classes.