Notre Dame football: Irish enter race for elite OL Brandon Baker

Days after the announcement of Notre Dame football offensive line coach Harry Hiestand retiring, the Irish offered elite OL Brandon Baker. The talented tackle out of Mater Dei is aware of Hiestand’s leaving and still seemed excited to get the offer from the Irish.

At 6’5″ and 285 pounds, Baker has the size and elite length you look for in a tackle prospect. According to 247Sports, he is the number one ranked tackle prospect in the class of 2024, and by the composite, he’s ranked in the top 5.

The list of schools that have offered Baker is now up to 33, given his latest offer from the Irish, and the list is rather impressive. Along with Notre Dame, Brandon has received offers from USC, Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, Oregon, and Michigan. Surprisingly enough, he has yet to get offered from Alabama or Georgia, but that could change quickly. Regardless, earning offers from those top-tier programs is no small feat.

When talking to Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, it was clear how intrigued Baker is with Notre Dame football. Whenever a student-athlete or his school reaches out on behalf of the player, that’s a good sign if you’re trying to jump into a kid’s recruitment. According to Biggins’ article, that’s precisely what happened.

"“It was actually one of my coaches who asked me if I had interest in them and I said I did and then he reached out to them.” – Baker to 247Sports’ Greg Biggins"

The Irish are sitting in a nice spot with another top talent on the offensive line in the class in Geurby Lambert, and adding Baker to the fold could be huge. Lambert is top 5 in his class, according to 247Sports, while he’s 2nd overall in the composite. Needless to say, the staff pulling in two top 5 OT talents would be huge. Peter Jones is already in the fold for the Irish as a top-20 interior offensive lineman.

While it’s tough to say where things stand with an elite prospect before he visits a school, getting solid OC and OL coaches could be pivotal. He must also visit the Notre Dame football facilities before we can better understand where things truly sit for the top talent.