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Notre Dame football: How much recruiting has improved under Marcus Freeman

By Daniel Morrison

Oct 2, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman enters Notre Dame Stadium before the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman enters Notre Dame Stadium before the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts in the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on January 01, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts in the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on January 01, 2022, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: How much recruiting has improved under Marcus Freeman

What it means

If the top class ranking holds, it would also be a first for Notre Dame. That’s a spot normally reserved for Alabama, Georgia, and programs like that. It would be a huge deal for the Irish, adding a lot of quality depth to their roster. That 2013 class was the fifth-ranked class that year, which was also the highest-rated class of the Brian Kelly era.

2022 represented a partial class between Kelly and Freeman, with the class technically acting as the first class of the Marcus Freeman era. However, as it’s a split class, you only give the coach partial credit or blame. That class was the seventh-best in the country, with a 0.9174 average rating. That would have been the second-best class ever under Kelly, only behind that 2013 class.

Now, these rankings and ratings are very early in the 2023 recruiting cycle, and plenty of things can change. These ratings will be difficult to maintain.

Still, there is a lot of reason to be optimistic about them, right now. Bringing in elite recruit classes is what Marcus Freeman is supposed to be doing, and so far everything is going according to plan.

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