Who's Next? - 2023 Edition

[NDMIA]

Steve Elmer - 9/17/11
Hunter Bivin - 3/24/12
Colin McGovern - 3/24/12
Mike McGlinchey - 3/25/12
John Montelus - 4/21/12

Jimmy Byrne - 12/8/12
Sam Mustipher - 4/15/13
Quenton Nelson - 5/1/13
Alex Bars - 5/17/13

Just pulled two classes as an example but as you can see, Hiestand is not much of a long player with extended recruitments. If I remember off the top of my head I think Ronnie Stanley went to the fall and maybe Aaron Banks but it's rare he lets them get far. Obviously things could change under Freeman but from what I remember Hiestand likes having his crew done early. Also, in relation to this class I think 5 would obviously be some serious oversigning because there's already 15 scholarship guys with eligibility in 2023 without even including Pendleton so a 5 man class would be pretty far over the limit but I could see them getting up to 4 because Patterson I think is almost 100% gone and people are right that Hiestand could bring some movement because of guys not taking to his coaching style. I could see the first 3 of Absher, Siereveld, Jagusah and Freeling getting into the class and maybe they continue to recruit Proctor and Okunlola into the fall to try for a big fish but I'm not sure. Also as LuckyLucci mentioned I could see if Absher jumped on board shortly maybe they hold off on Siereveld and try and get their 3rd/4th being Jagusah and Freeling. The bottom line is this could go in many directions but I think starting off the OLine class with Pendleton and Absher is big time and this class is going to turn into a really good one for sure!

 

[NDIrish88]

Steve Elmer - 9/17/11
Hunter Bivin - 3/24/12
Colin McGovern - 3/24/12
Mike McGlinchey - 3/25/12
John Montelus - 4/21/12

Jimmy Byrne - 12/8/12
Sam Mustipher - 4/15/13
Quenton Nelson - 5/1/13
Alex Bars - 5/17/13

Just pulled two classes as an example but as you can see, Hiestand is not much of a long player with extended recruitments. If I remember off the top of my head I think Ronnie Stanley went to the fall and maybe Aaron Banks but it's rare he lets them get far. Obviously things could change under Freeman but from what I remember Hiestand likes having his crew done early. Also, in relation to this class I think 5 would obviously be some serious oversigning because there's already 15 scholarship guys with eligibility in 2023 without even including Pendleton so a 5 man class would be pretty far over the limit but I could see them getting up to 4 because Patterson I think is almost 100% gone and people are right that Hiestand could bring some movement because of guys not taking to his coaching style. I could see the first 3 of Absher, Siereveld, Jagusah and Freeling getting into the class and maybe they continue to recruit Proctor and Okunlola into the fall to try for a big fish but I'm not sure. Also as LuckyLucci mentioned I could see if Absher jumped on board shortly maybe they hold off on Siereveld and try and get their 3rd/4th being Jagusah and Freeling. The bottom line is this could go in many directions but I think starting off the OLine class with Pendleton and Absher is big time and this class is going to turn into a really good one for sure!

Here is the scary but good part. If for some reason HH strikes out on some of those mentioned, there are relatively good back up plans like Elijah Page and Trevor Lauck. It's gonna be very nice in 23.

 

[Luckylucci]

FWIW, last I read Proctor is completely off the board.

 

[DONTH8]

FWIW, last I read Proctor is completely off the board.

Can't blame him. I've been told Iowa is a way better place to live than Northern Indiana.

 

[Irish#1]

Also from reading up on the kids, one of the better things to note is that it seems like Harry is really keen on building a cohesive unit and has found recruits that will work well in that setting versus just a collection of talented individuals. Pendleton raved about the "brotherhood".

You saw that in Harry's first stint. To me this is the biggest difference between HH and his predecessor. Just never felt like Quinn meshed them like Harry.

 

[laughingirish90]

Can't blame him. I've been told Iowa is a way better place to live than Northern Indiana.

i can see people saying some place like Florida but IOWA

 

[Reaper97]

If you listen to Driskell’s recruiting podcast from yesterday, with Ryan Roberts on it, they said it’s frustrating for ND fans because of the lack of “public commits” right now. Said if ND fans knew what they knew we would be happy. Said not to worry, ND was doing good, and they wish there would be more public announcements.
So there is that.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

If you listen to Driskell’s recruiting podcast from yesterday, with Ryan Roberts on it, they said it’s frustrating for ND fans because of the lack of “public commits” right now. Said if ND fans knew what they knew we would be happy. Said not to worry, ND was doing good, and they wish there would be more public announcements.
So there is that.

Our '23 class is currently ranked #1 nationally. We haven't recruited this well since Cerrato's heyday. Who's unhappy?

 

[ab2cmiller]

Well, the only part of recruiting that people aren’t happy about is QB. Soooo he’s saying we got our QB already silently committed

 

[Blazers46]

Our '23 class is currently ranked #1 nationally. We haven't recruited this well since Cerrato's heyday. Who's unhappy?

I feel like ND could potentially have their best recruiting class in a very very long time.

 

[Blazers46]

My only worry is how NDs offense will do this season. I think the floor is very low. Hate to have an epic recruiting class derailed with an awful season.

 

[notredomer23]

My only worry is how NDs offense will do this season. I think the floor is very low. Hate to have an epic recruiting class derailed with an awful season.

Weis achieved the #2 class after 3-9. Shouldn’t be a tough sell with an even more competent staff.

 

[Reaper97]

Our '23 class is currently ranked #1 nationally. We haven't recruited this well since Cerrato's heyday. Who's unhappy?

I think he was talking in context of a fan asking him why there hadn’t been more commits in April. He answered that there are more & he understands why ND fans are frustrated because they are silent.
Loy also says there are multiple silents, so they both must be hearing the same info.

 

[ThePiombino]

Soooo he’s saying we got our QB already silently committed

That and $.58 gets you a stamp...

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[GATTACA!]

I feel like ND could potentially have their best recruiting class in a very very long time.

And NDNation will still be upset.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Driskell has been throwing that "publicly committed" phrase around a lot.
He certainly knows something. It might be Dante or it might not.

But all I know (and driskell has said the same, and I actually agree) is if a kid won't publicly commit and still wants to take visits then what does it count as?

 

[ThePiombino]

...if a kid won't publicly commit and still wants to take visits then what does it count as?

Agreed, but apparently enough to get your offensive staff to stop recruiting other QBs. We'll find out soon enough if the gamble was worth it...

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[317Irish]

Agreed, but apparently enough to get your offensive staff to stop recruiting other QBs. We'll find out soon enough if the gamble was worth it...

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I think the bolded is where some people (rightfully, IMO) are starting to get a little concerned. Loy, Driskell, etc. can all hint at him being a silent, but NLI>>>>commit>>>>>>>>>>>>silent commit.
People are commending him for taking his time. That’s likely because we think we, at minimum, are leading this recruitment. Are the same people going to express their admiration of how he handled the situation if he drags this out until December and chooses TA&M?
-guy that’s seen this too many times to be completely comfortable that it’s not happening yet again.

 

[ThePiombino]

I think the bolded is where some people (rightfully, IMO) are starting to get a little concerned. Loy, Driskell, etc. can all hint at him being a silent, but NLI>>>>commit>>>>>>>>>>>>silent commit.
People are commending him for taking his time. That’s likely because we think we, at minimum, are leading this recruitment. Are the same people going to express their admiration of how he handled the situation if he drags this out until December and chooses TA&M?
-guy that’s seen this too many times to be completely comfortable that it’s not happening yet again.

I hear you. This recruitment does not give me the warm and fuzzies, but that's more about recruiting PTSD than Moore himself. Hoping to be off here, but can't shake the feeling that this doesn't end well for the good guys.

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[Dale]

Yeah it’s tough at all to imagine being in a “unhappy” camp.

I am disappointed with the trending of Moore but just gotta ride and hope there is more to this then we know.

I think the Rhett decommitment and Gray trending LSU hurts. Bell would help but still need more at CB.

Jagusah not popping wasn’t ideal but HH rebounded in a big way to seems like this last weekend. If they land Absher with Pendleton it’d be more than happy leaving spring with those 2 at minimum.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

My only worry is how NDs offense will do this season. I think the floor is very low. Hate to have an epic recruiting class derailed with an awful season.

Not to derail this thread but I don't necessarily agree. I think we are going to be much better at running the ball with Harry back. Once Patterson is healthy, they'll find the right 5 guys to trot out there and lead the way.

I get the concerns with the passing game with the thin depth at WR (I still believe they'll address this in the portal) and young QBs, but we have a DEEP stable of backs, and I think we'll see a lot of dual TE sets with some solid, but unproven, depth at TE. RTDB with your mobile QB and RBs, call the right game with RPO/play action, and good things will happen.

 

[Blazers46]

Not to derail this thread but I don't necessarily agree. I think we are going to be much better at running the ball with Harry back. Once Patterson is healthy, they'll find the right 5 guys to trot out there and lead the way.

I get the concerns with the passing game with the thin depth at WR (I still believe they'll address this in the portal) and young QBs, but we have a DEEP stable of backs, and I think we'll see a lot of dual TE sets with some solid, but unproven, depth at TE. RTDB with your mobile QB and RBs, call the right game with RPO/play action, and good things will happen.

You could be 100% right. But your partly basing this on players ND doesn’t currently have. I’m just saying the floor is low. The potential is there to go either way.

 

[stlnd01]

It may not be the offense you want to show off to hotshot QB and WR recruits but I think our offense will perform reasonably well this year, for the reasons Bloke elaborated (OL, RB depth, Mayer. I'd add Buchner's wheels.) And our defense should be enough to prevent the season from being anything approaching "awful." Maybe we don't make the CFP but 9-3 is not so terrible.
I'd pitch that as an opportunity to stud passing game recruits to push this otherwise-complete program over the hump.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

You could be 100% right. But your partly basing this on players ND doesn’t currently have. I’m just saying the floor is low. The potential is there to go either way.

One of the virtues of the team Kelly left behind was that it inherently has a high floor, because we're good at playing ManBall™, and based on talent differential alone, that's usually enough for us to cruise to at least 9 victories. We won't be relying on incoming freshman or praying for unusually rapid development at OL, TE or RB, and we know we're at least upgrading on QB mobility, so we should be able to push most opponents around that way.

And even if we struggle to get production from our WR room again, we can always split Mayer out wide and put Tyree in the slot. We've got options to spread an opponent out if their front-7 is stout enough to stop our plan A. I think it's mostly going to come down to Buchner's ability to protect the ball and stay healthy. If he can do those two things, we should be look at another 10+ wins with a good shot at the post-season.

 

[317Irish]

Never really tried this before, but I was playing around with 247’s class calculator. We’re currently at 11 commits and I added 6: Dante Moore, Charles Jagusah, Monroe Freeling, Sully Absher, Devan Houston, and Jayden Limar. All have crystal balls to ND. Those 17 would get us up to a 281 projected team score using their current rankings- our highest total since 2013.

 

[stpeteirish]

It may not be the offense you want to show off to hotshot QB and WR recruits but I think our offense will perform reasonably well this year, for the reasons Bloke elaborated (OL, RB depth, Mayer. I'd add Buchner's wheels.) And our defense should be enough to prevent the season from being anything approaching "awful." Maybe we don't make the CFP but 9-3 is not so terrible.
I'd pitch that as an opportunity to stud passing game recruits to push this otherwise-complete program over the hump.

Is there a difference between 9-3 under Kelly and 9-3 under Freeman?
Because until this year 9-3 "not so terrible" would get your ass fried here and everywhere else ND fans have computers.

 

[BobbyMac]

Never really tried this before, but I was playing around with 247’s class calculator. We’re currently at 11 commits and I added 6: Dante Moore, Charles Jagusah, Monroe Freeling, Sully Absher, Devan Houston, and Jayden Limar. All have crystal balls to ND. Those 17 would get us up to a 281 projected team score using their current rankings- our highest total since 2013.

I'll bet 2023's class will be better...

2013's #2-3-4 prospects.

(Redfield, Bryant and Bivin)

 

[317Irish]

I'll bet 2023's class will be better...

2013's #2-3-4 prospects.

Trueeee, but who were the 2-4 recruits in 1985?

 

[Dale]

Is there a difference between 9-3 under Kelly and 9-3 under Freeman?

Yes.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Is there a difference between 9-3 under Kelly and 9-3 under Freeman?
Because until this year 9-3 "not so terrible" would get your ass fried here and everywhere else ND fans have computers.

I think so. Kelly's primary selling point for fans was his high floor, and as his tenure progressed and his ceiling became apparent, the high floor became more important (because if he couldn't even deliver that, it was clearly time to move on, and few wanted to have that conversation).

Freeman's main selling point is getting ND over the hump. He's already doing that by upgrading our roster and recruiting far better than Kelly ever did. But he's a first year HC working with a newly reconstituted staff, so his floor won't be as high, but he'll rightfully get more leeway.