Notre Dame Football: What flipping Will Schweitzer means for the Irish

Notre Dame football added another linebacker to the class of 2021, this time flipping former Nebraska commit, Will Schweitzer.

Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame football saw a decommit from Nebraska turn into a commit to the Irish in a matter of hours. That guy was 2021 linebacker from California, Will Schweitzer. He committed to Nebraska back in June, but it sure seemed to be a well kept secret that the Irish staff was heavily in pursuit. Clearly that offer held up huge for Schweitzer and once he got the green light from the Irish staff to come on board, it was over.

For Schweitzer, academics are a priority (just look at his offer list), and I believe that was the ultimate selling point for Notre Dame during this pandemic for both him and his family.

At the moment Schweitzer holds 25 offers from the likes of Michigan State, Arizona State, Arkansas and many others.

What will Schweitzer bring to South Bend?

The 6’4 220-pound linebacker will bring a ton of versatility to the front seven on defense. He’s someone that has high upside that could transition to the weak side defensive end position, if he’s able to add weight and strength. That’s something the staff is very intrigued with and could possibly lean towards once he actually gets to campus.

As for his ability, he really does everything well. He can drop in coverage, where he has the quickness to cover space, which also then allows him to rush the passer with success. He has length and uses his hands well that definitely helps him great in coverage and he does have a physical streak in him that really comes alive in the run game. Once he gets into the strength program and Balis gets ahold of him, all bets are off for him. The size is there — just add the weight and he could be a really good multi-year starter for the front seven and the Irish.

With the Schweitzer commitment, the Irish now have 18 pledges in the 2021 class, nine on offense and nine of defense. He’ll be joining linebacker Prince Kollie and also I’d add defensive ends Jason Onye and David Abiara to his position group (although Abiara may soon be removed from this group, as he’s been flirting with other schools). Defensive line coach Mike Elston and defensive coordinator will have their hands full with Schweitzer, in a good way, but it will definitely be interesting to see how he develops.