Notre Dame football: What does WR Braylon James bring to the Irish?

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 09: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the game on November 9, 2013 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 09: A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the game on November 9, 2013 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame football team is hard at work filling some of the holes on this 2023 roster and landed a big-time prospect on Tuesday night.

Notre Dame football has landed 2023 wide receiver out of Del Valle, Texas, Braylon James. He was last on campus in mid-March for a visit and I think that visit was more of a reassurance type visit because the Irish were going to be extremely hard to beat since they offered back in May of last year.

James is very high on academics and has always stated he wanted to go to a school that holds academics to the same standard as football, if not more. Everyone knows there are only a few schools that truly pride themselves on that and Notre Dame is one of them.

To add, James has an outstanding relationship with new wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey, who has been recruiting him even before getting to South Bend when he was at Baylor. Braylon James officially made it public on the CBS network by picking the Irish Tuesday evening. The staff and fans are and should be thrilled about it.

At the moment, James holds 42 offers from the likes of Stanford, Georgia, Texas A&M, LSU, Ohio State, and many other top programs around the country.

What will James bring to the Notre Dame football team?

The 6’2 175-pound wide receiver and Under Armour All-American is someone that could be the ideal all-around receiver in this Notre Dame offense. He has exceptional ball skills and catches anything that comes his way.

He’s very crisp as a route runner and someone that has a great vertical that snags anything on the perimeter. His ability to adjust in the air is eye-catching for a big guy and something you love to see. The speed is there as well so it’s honestly hard to find any glaring issues in his game.

He’s really good at just about everything a wide receiver is asked to do and his length and body frame just add another level of excitement. This is a huge pickup for the receiver room, to say the least.

Notre Dame now has nine commitments in the 2023 class, going right back up to the No. 1 class in the nation, after Notre Dame saw a de-commit from corner Justyn Rhett this past weekend. There are now three offensive commits and six on the defensive side of the ball.

With Braylon James making it official he is the first receiver in the class with the expectation they will end up taking at least four highly-touted receivers and the Irish staff are in a great spot to do just that. I’d say starting with Braylon James is a huge way to get things rolling in the receiver room.

Can’t overstate what an outstanding get this is for first-year wide receiver coach Chansi Stuckey. That’s how you recruit, especially when you snag a guy from the lone star state that’s a top-100 player nationally. Gotta love it Irish Nation.