Notre Dame Football: 3-star recruits who had big impacts under Brian Kelly

By Brad Weiss | Apr 24, 2021

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 28: DUPLICATE***Tommy Rees #11 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish passes during the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Yankee Stadium on December 28, 2013 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

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Adetokunbo Ogundeji. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame Football: 3-star recruits who had big impacts under Brian Kelly

2016: Adetokunbo Ogundeji

At first, edge rusher Adetonkunbo Ogundeji committed to Western Michigan, but once he got the offer from Notre Dame, it was a no-brainer. Ogundeji suffered a knee injury during his senior year of high school, and spent his first season in South Bend on the scout team, before becoming a special teams player as a sophomore.

It was during his junior season where Ogundeji started to break out, becoming the force that we saw coming off the edge this past season. After racking up 4.5 sacks as a junior, Ogundeji posted seven this past season and was a guy who just got better every season, culminating with him being asked to the Senior Bowl.

At the Senior Bowl, Ogundeji proved that he could get around the best offensive linemen in college football, significantly raising his draft status in front of the scouts. He has improved his stock so much that some feel he could be a Day 2 pick, joining former teammate Daelin Hayes as 2020 edge rushers that should hear their names called in the 2021 NFL Draft.

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