Notre Dame football: What does DL Boubacar Traore bring to the Irish?
By Carlee North
The Notre Dame football team landed another key recruit for the 2023 cycle, as Boubacar Traore committed to the Irish on Wednesday night.
Notre Dame football continues to roll on the recruiting trail, this time landing 2023 defensive lineman out of Massachusetts in Boubacar Traore and adding to their top-ranked recruiting class in the country. Traore had been a Boston College commit for over a year and looked poised to be one of their top recruits in the class when signing day came around.
That all changed when Notre Dame football offered back in October when Traore decided to open his recruitment back up a couple of months later. It seemed like if the staff gave him the green light he was going to end up Irish and that’s exactly what happened.
Freeman and the staff made it clear that he was wanted in this defensive lineman class and after a visit to South Bend on Monday afternoon he finally made it public that he was going to play for the blue and gold.
At the moment and mainly because he was fully locked in with Boston College for such a long time, Traore holds 4 offers from Michigan, Boston College, and Pitt. I wouldn’t be surprised if he adds quite a few more offers up until signing day.
What does Boubacar Traore bring to this Notre Dame football team?
The 6’4 250-pound defensive lineman is going to bring power and quickness. He also has great length and his arms are freakishly long. Traore has a great burst coming off the line and a power punch when he gets to the tackle in front of him.
His strength can’t be ignored either, with great body control and a lower half that is very powerful when he gets engaged with the blocker. He has a nice inventory of moves in his toolbox, whether that’s a spin move or brush around the edge. His upper body strength is only going to continue improving especially once he’s with strength coach Matt Balis.
I’d expect him to stay on the outside but if he’s someone that’s able to put on more weight, along with lots of strength, he could also wind up on the inside of the defensive line. The versatility is there for the 250-pounder.
The Irish now have 11 commitments in the 2023 class with now 7 on defense and 4 on the offensive side.
Traore will be joining Keon Keeley and Brenan Vernon in the defensive lineman room so far, with the expectation that the staff wants to add at least two more to the group. Ideally, the staff would like two interior guys and three edge rushers, with the ability and flexibility to move inside as well if needed. It’s a real possibility that happens if all goes well with their remaining target but the trio they have now is outstanding for first-year defensive line coach Al Washington.