Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Top 10 Recruiting Misses of the Brian Kelly Era
By Andrew Hall
No. 9 – Pete Werner – Linebacker – Class of 2017 (Ohio State)
Pete Werner seems like the ideal recruit for Notre Dame. He attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. How could a Catholic school product just hours south of the Golden Dome spurn the Irish? Well, at first, Werner appeared poised to joined the 2017 Notre Dame football recruiting class. He committed to the Irish in the spring of 2016.
However, by the fall of 2016, Werner began to rethink his commitment to Notre Dame. Following a 4-8 campaign by the Irish, Werner received a visit from current Cincinnati Head Coach and former Ohio State assistant Luke Fickell. The visit caused Werner to decommit from Brian Kelly and the uncertain coaching staff at Notre Dame. Weeks later, he committed to the Buckeyes.
Werner garnered playing time in Columbus almost immediately. By his Sophomore year, he was holding down a starting spot. Last season, he tallied 64 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss.
Why is Werner ranked here: Werner ranked 277th overall in the 2017 class. Of the players in the Top 10, his recruiting rating ranks lowest. However, based on his performance at Ohio State, he clearly is a high level starter at the upper echelon of college football. The loss of Werner has not been felt too much on the field. The Irish football team received great Linebacker from 2017-2019 by current Defensive Coordinator Clark Lea. However, Lea would feel much better about the current BUCK position if he could plug Werner into that spot. A 2020 trio of Drew White, Pete Werner and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah looks very appealing.