The State of Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Defense

Safety

Currently on roster: Jalen Elliott (3 star), Alohi Gilman (unranked), Houston Griffith (4 star), DJ Brown (3 star), Kyle Hamilton (4 star), Litchfield Ajavon (4 star).

Current commits: None

A very strong starting duo of Elliott and Gilman were both on campus before Terry Joseph’s time in South Bend, but both have significantly outplayed their recruiting rankings. Gilman was of course a transfer from Navy — and a highly touted one at that. It is worth nothing that when he stepped foot on Notre Dame’s campus, he was considered a much better prospect than he was in high school.

Behind these two, the Irish currently have 5 very talented prospects — Kyle Hamilton seen as the crown jewel of the bunch. Griffith and Brown both came to Notre Dame with position versatility — Brown moving to safety full time as a freshman and Griffith showing off that versatility early on in his career. As a freshman, he played mostly in nickel packages as the slot corner and in the Spring it was announced he would move to boundary corner.

Now, with Troy Pride Jr. moving to boundary, it is looking more and more likely that Griffith will be back at safety — somewhere I believe he will really thrive. Overall for 2019 purposes, there are some concerns with the depth and experience, however, recruiting is in a very good place at safety with Joseph at the helm. Hamilton, Griffith and Allen specifically give fans a lot to be excited about.

For what it’s worth, the Irish staff is still looking to add a true safety to the 2020 class — one of the only positions in 2020 that has yet to be filled.

Corner

Currently on roster: Troy Pride Jr. (4 star), Donte Vaughn (4 star), Temitope Agoro (unranked), Shaun Crawford (4 star), Avery Davis (4 star), Tariq Bracy (3 star), Isaiah Rutherford (4 star), KJ Wallace (4 star).

Current commits: Clarence Lewis (3 star), Landen Barlteson (3 star), Caleb Offord (3 star).

When looking at the current players on the roster, 4-stars are scattered throughout multiple classes, however, it hasn’t been all moonlight and roses in CB recruiting. For example, 2017 was a gigantic miss on the trail — landing zero corners before Avery Davis switched positions this spring. On top of that, some of the higher profile recruits have dealt with a plethora injuries — Crawford and Vaughn most notably.

With that said, Todd Lyght has shown that when he lands guys, he will develop them. Julian Love (3 star) comes to mind, Troy Pride has become a very steady player for the Irish, Crawford when healthy has been a ballhawk, etc. Now that Love is out the door, the older guys will need to stay healthy and the young, unproven guys will need to step up.

Tariq Bracy is the only remaining corner from a 2018 class that included 5 corners — 3 have since switched positions and one (Noah Boykin) has transferred. Incoming this season are two more four-stars that the staff loves, and in the wings after that are three developmental three-star corners in the 2020 class.

More firepower is needed in the future with Pride out the door after this season. The staff is still looking at guys for 2020, and 2021 looks promising with a few elite talents. Things could be better, but overall the future outlook looks solid after a few years of odd recruitment stories.