Notre Dame football: ESPN top-300 displays how special 2023 class is
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football has loaded up for the 2023 recruiting class, and ESPN is very high on the talent they have already brought in.
The 2023 recruiting class for the Notre Dame football team is shaping up to be a special one, as it is currently No. 2 overall by 247Sports.com. In his first full season at the helm of the program, head coach Marcus Freeman has dominated the recruiting trail alongside his staff and is right up there with the likes of Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia to name a few.
Recently, ESPN updated their top-300 prospects for the 2023 recruiting cycle, and the Notre Dame football program was well-represented. The top 100 has a lot of Irish in it, and more could be on their way.
First on the list was Keon Keeley, a five-star edge rusher who is currently the marquee commitment for the 2023 class. Keeley is 6-foot-5, incredibly athletic, and was rated by ESPN as the No. 23 player in this class.
Keeley is not the only member of the 2023 class that is high in the rankings, as Notre Dame football has three players within the top 50. Wideout Braylon James is ranked No. 46 and three spots later, Peyton Bowen is at No. 49.
Drayk Bowen (86), Brenan Vernon (104), Adon Shuler (169), Devan Houstan (182), Boubacar Traore (211), and Jayden Limar (256) also made the list, and are all at least four-star prospects according to ESPN. That means of the top 300 players in the country, nine have already committed to the Irish.
Notre Dame football recruiting on another level
Based on recent rankings by 247Sports.com, the Irish also hold the No. 1 class for the 2024 cycle, this after landing five-star signal-caller, CJ Carr. Carr shunned his legacy spot with the Michigan Wolverines, where his grandfather was a legendary head coach to commit to Notre Dame, a monster get for Freeman and his staff.
The truth is, the Irish could just be getting started for both 2023 and 2024 classes, and we should see more players committing in the coming weeks.