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Notre Dame football: 10 Key targets in the 2023 class

By Daniel Morrison

Sep 18, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman leaves the field after Notre Dame defeated the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman leaves the field after Notre Dame defeated the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 27: A close-up view a football helmet of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team on the sidelines during an NCAA football game against the Stanford Cardinal on November 27, 2021 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 27: A close-up view a football helmet of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team on the sidelines during an NCAA football game against the Stanford Cardinal on November 27, 2021 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: 10 Key targets in the 2023 class

Luke Montgomery and Sullivan Absher

Following the 2012-13 BCS National Championship Game, Brian Kelly realized that there was a fundamental difference between Notre Dame and Alabama. The Crimson Tide were able to bully the Irish in the trenches.

So, he committed to building a tradition of great offensive lines at Notre Dame. Say what you will about Kelly’s ability to recruit, he was incredibly successful at this.

Marcus Freeman certainly wants to continue in this tradition. He hired Harry Hiestand as Notre Dame’s offensive line coach. Hiestand was at Notre Dame in the same role from 2012-17. During that time he developed some of the best offensive linemen Notre Dame has seen, including a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line in 2017.

There are questions about his recruiting, though. Notre Dame could help answer those by landing Luke Montgomery and Sullivan Absher in the Class of 2023.

Montgomery is a four-star tackle and two way player from Ohio. He has great size and could easily develop into the next great tackle at a school like Notre Dame. As of right now, he holds 34 different offers and Ohio State is expected to land Montgomery. That’s not a sure thing, though, and there are plenty of schools who are thought to be in a good position to land him.

That includes USC, Michigan, Clemson, and Notre Dame too. Montgomery is also set to announce his decision on February 17th. Even if he doesn’t choose the Irish then, you don’t stop recruiting him. Until the ink is dry on signing day, you try and flip a player like Montgomery.

For his part, Absher does not currently have a star rating. That should change soon, though, because Absher is a stud from North Carolina. At 6ft 7in and 275lbs, Absher is massive and ready to develop into a great college players.

The trick is that the Power Five just found him, which means recruiting services are simply behind on rating him. For now, though, it looks like a battle between Notre Dame and North Carolina.

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