Notre Dame football: Realistic dream class-Defense

The Notre Dame football team’s 2021 offensive class is off to a great start with four top targets committed but the defensive class needs work with only two.

Don’t let the number of commits fool you, the defensive class is also off to a good start with Gabriel Rubio and Justin Walters already in the fold. Both recruits were top targets of the staff, and they were able to secure their commitments early on. However, while the offensive board is more clear with its targets and star talent, the top defensive targets are a little more up in the air.

Fans should know by now that rankings don’t mean everything this early on in a recruiting cycle. Prospects have yet to play their senior seasons of high school, and on top of that have yet to attend some of the premier camps like the Opening and the Rivals 5-star challenge. Many of the top Notre Dame football targets currently on the board don’t boast high-level rating, but looking at their offer sheets it is easy to see they are coveted recruits.

In the 2020 recruiting cycle, the Notre Dame football team was able to land some key pieces along the defensive line and also brought in three developmental secondary pieces. The coaching staff chose to pass on linebacker after pulling in a nice haul in 2019, and the same could be said for safety.

In 2021, it is shaping out to be another relatively small recruiting class, and I would be surprised if the staff took more than 21-22 kids – but it could be even less than that. Look for the Notre Dame football team to target two to three defensive ends, one or two linebackers and at least four more secondary pieces in addition to Rubio and Walters.

Let’s dive into what a realistic dream class would actually look like.