2023 - State of the Recruiting Class

[SouthSideChiDomer]

There’s like 20 kids including the last minute add of a Tulane commit with Nico out. Between the recap and the live thread I think I saw praise for every one besides Rickie Collins, Drogosh and the Tulane kid. Felt like just sound bites gathered to put out to all the team sites.

SI had Smolik ranked 12th, saying he finished strong with the Rail Shot competition (where he came in second place) after struggling a bit early on. They liked his accuracy and touch on the deep ball and while working outside of the pocket.

All of the recaps made it sound like Dante really impresses too. But if he is going to Oregon and we still want a '23 QB, Novosad also got good reviews and rankings.

 

[NDPhilly]

While seemingly obvious as one of the top uncommitted QBs, this the first confirmation we have that ND is in fact reaching out to other 2023 QBs. Means Carr's reclassification is far from a sure thing and obviously theyre are finally expanding the board from just Dante.

 

[NDPhilly]

Apparently Novosad has been pretty good at the Elite 11’s first night of workouts.

2022 Elite 11 Finals: Live updates from Workout No. 1

2022 Elite 11 Finals: Live updates from Workout No. 1

247sports.com

Another guy that I always liked that’s seemingly impressing is FL QB and PSU commit Marcus Stokes.

Love Stokes. Obviously has some physical limitations but can easily see him being a Trace McSorely caliber college QB.

Franklin is 11 and 11 in the last 2 years and his seat is warming in PSU circles so definitely worth watching.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

Some top performers/rankings after day 1

2022 Elite 11 Finals: Dante Moore, Malachi Nelson lead Day 1 rankings - Sports Illustrated

Moore, the nation's top uncommitted quarterback, dominates the opening day of camp.

www.si.com

Elite 11 Finals: Day 1 Top Performers

Day 1 at the Elite 11 Finals featured strong showings from top quarterback prospects, headlined by a big-armed passer headed to the Big 12.

www.on3.com

 

[IrishLion]

While seemingly obvious as one of the top uncommitted QBs, this the first confirmation we have that ND is in fact reaching out to other 2023 QBs. Means Carr's reclassification is far from a sure thing and obviously theyre are finally expanding the board from just Dante.

Absolutely blows my mind that Moore (or his dad) got scared off by a QB in the '24 class taking a spot.

Sound like dad wants a big NIL deal AND wants to make sure Dante is in line for those deals ahead of a '24 QB wherever he chooses.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Absolutely blows my mind that Moore (or his dad) got scared off by a QB in the '24 class taking a spot.

Sound like dad wants a big NIL deal AND wants to make sure Dante is in line for those deals ahead of a '24 QB wherever he chooses.

He and CJ Carr pretty much have to know each other personally, right?

 

[NDPhilly]

JJ Kohl is an interesting one to watch as well. Held his own among the elite of the elite. Not very mobile but a super strong arm.

 

[goldendomer89]

Absolutely blows my mind that Moore (or his dad) got scared off by a QB in the '24 class taking a spot.

Sound like dad wants a big NIL deal AND wants to make sure Dante is in line for those deals ahead of a '24 QB wherever he chooses.

I don't think Moore would be in this class or close to committing even if Carr was not in the 24 class. They haven't even been able to get him back on campus since March.

It just seems like a convenient excuse to explain the sudden lack of interest in a school that was the perceived leader.

 

[Dale]

It just seems like a convenient excuse to explain the sudden lack of interest in a school that was the perceived leader.

I think that is definitely happening to some extent in that this didn’t flip overnight with just CJ’s commitment. Maybe not the whole story, but the “Dante was just shocked and wondering if he even has a a spot now. Can’t go to the school he wants to now.” stuff doesn’t add up in the slightest.

 

[Luckylucci]

247 recap and rankings from Day 1. Notable to me, Dante Moore comes in at #1, ugh. But, as I mentioned before, Novosad and Stokes were getting solid attention from Biggins and Wiltfong. 247 ranked both ahead of Vizzina and Rashada. Guys were are ranked considerably ahead of them in the rankings. Lastly, I know nothing about Emory Williams but he came in at 11. Hard for me to think that both he and Rashada end up at Miami.

2022 Elite 11 Finals: 247Sports ranks the QBs after Day 1

Day 1 at the Elite 11 Finals is in the books and several quarterbacks had strong opening workouts. Here’s a look at our the top 11 performances from today.

247sports.com

 

[NDPhilly]

247 recap and rankings from Day 1. Notable to me, Dante Moore comes in at #1, ugh. But, as I mentioned before, Novosad and Stokes were getting solid attention from Biggins and Wiltfong. 247 ranked both ahead of Vizzina and Rashada. Guys were are ranked considerably ahead of them in the rankings. Lastly, I know nothing about Emory Williams but he came in at 11. Hard for me to think that both he and Rashada end up at Miami.

2022 Elite 11 Finals: 247Sports ranks the QBs after Day 1

Day 1 at the Elite 11 Finals is in the books and several quarterbacks had strong opening workouts. Here’s a look at our the top 11 performances from today.

247sports.com

Worst part about losing Dante IMO is that he really is close to a "sure thing" to be at the least a very good college QB. He may not have #1 overall pick tools, but the kid just knows how to play QB. He's accurate, a quick decision maker, delivers a catchable ball, and has more than enough arm strength. Not a Drew Allar, high chance at bust, situation.

 

[Dale]

Plus 19 5-star studs throughout the roster. ND will never get that many elite players so a high tier QB is probably what we will have to have. An elite offense and serviceable defense that can get off the field and generate turnovers.

Some top performers/rankings after day 1

2022 Elite 11 Finals: Dante Moore, Malachi Nelson lead Day 1 rankings - Sports Illustrated

Moore, the nation's top uncommitted quarterback, dominates the opening day of camp.

www.si.com

Elite 11 Finals: Day 1 Top Performers

Day 1 at the Elite 11 Finals featured strong showings from top quarterback prospects, headlined by a big-armed passer headed to the Big 12.

www.on3.com

Like that the SI article was willing to weigh positives and negatives, On3 some too. 247 felt like just click bait is gonna come from this week.

 

[Luckylucci]

Dante is a talent, no doubt about that. But, to me, the worst part about the Dante fiasco is, so far, it cost us other QB's that are also very good. National consensus is this is a deep QB class and I agree. We'll see how that plays out but I think there is a lot to like about quite a few guys.

Loy admitted the other day that Vizzina was going to ND if they didn't stop recruiting him. What happens with Jackson Arnold if you never tell the whole world, several times, that Dante Moore is the #1 target? More nuance to that one than Vizzina but I think it gets more interesting. Do they move on Stokes when Loy brought it up? Or beat OSU, UGA, etc to the punch on Novosad?

This is all moot if Carr re-classes to '23 which I see as the best case scenario by a long shot right now.

 

[Dale]

Loy admitted the other day that Vizzina was going to ND if they didn't stop recruiting him.

He said they could have. Not going to. Which is consistent with Clemson leading but believing ND could have had the goods to change that with a visit.

 

[Dale]

What happens with Jackson Arnold if you never tell the whole world, several times, that Dante Moore is the #1 target

He goes to OU because he wanted to go to OU but the spot was taken by Malachi Nelson until one of his favorite coaches became the OC at one of his already favorite schools

 

[Dale]

The Vizzina and ND thing to me is not dissimilar to Greathouse, James and Gallagher. The profile and factors fit that ND would land them with a great visit. ND has one down, missed on one and should add another from those examples. This is why I thought Vizzina was more likely than Moore because it just seemed like it would play out better in the end. ND did not let it play out, because of Moore, in the end.

 

[NDMatt91]

Dante is a talent, no doubt about that. But, to me, the worst part about the Dante fiasco is, so far, it cost us other QB's that are also very good. National consensus is this is a deep QB class and I agree. We'll see how that plays out but I think there is a lot to like about quite a few guys.

Loy admitted the other day that Vizzina was going to ND if they didn't stop recruiting him. What happens with Jackson Arnold if you never tell the whole world, several times, that Dante Moore is the #1 target? More nuance to that one than Vizzina but I think it gets more interesting. Do they move on Stokes when Loy brought it up? Or beat OSU, UGA, etc to the punch on Novosad?

This is all moot if Carr re-classes to '23 which I see as the best case scenario by a long shot right now.

That's the most frustrating thing. IIRC, Jackson Arnold also wanted to come to ND or we were his leader at the time. This is why you shouldn't go all-in on one top-tier guy when there are other top-tier guys that want to commit. It'd be different if this was a horrible QB class and Dante was the only top-tier guy, but this is apparently a very strong cycle for QB's.

If we were doing a blame pie, Rees, IMO, would deserve by far the most blame.

 

[ab2cmiller]

That's the most frustrating thing. IIRC, Jackson Arnold also wanted to come to ND or we were his leader at the time. This is why you shouldn't go all-in on one top-tier guy when there are other top-tier guys that want to commit. It'd be different if this was a horrible QB class and Dante was the only top-tier guy, but this is apparently a very strong cycle for QB's.

If we were doing a blame pie, Rees, IMO, would deserve by far the most blame.

I get it that Rees gets some of the blame, but Freeman gets none? Bullcrap. There is no way that canceling Vizzina was Reese's call. I'm sure there were discussions among the coaching staff, but ultimate responsibility lies at the feet of Freeman. It was either his decision to be made, or he delegated that decision to Rees. Either way, it was ultimately Freeman's call.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Let's wait and see what happens with Carr's reclassification before we start handing out blame. All's well that ends well.

 

[NDMatt91]

I get it that Rees gets some of the blame, but Freeman gets none? Bullcrap. There is no way that canceling Vizzina was Reese's call. I'm sure there were discussions among the coaching staff, but ultimate responsibility lies at the feet of Freeman. It was either his decision to be made, or he delegated that decision to Rees. Either way, it was ultimately Freeman's call.

Oh, he absolutely gets some. But if we're doing a blame pie I would say that Rees deserves the most.

 

[Dale]

Let's wait and see what happens with Carr's reclassification before we start handing out blame. All's well that ends well.

This is true also/hopefully. Most of the LL podcast was incoherent rambling but Malik did slide in one decent point. They were willing to possibly hurt their relationship with Dante for CJ. They weren’t for Vizzina. The timeline is not the same but what does that tell you about their feelings on CJ.

 

[greyhammer90]

Let's wait and see what happens with Carr's reclassification before we start handing out blame. All's well that ends well.

Or what happens with Moore for that matter. I know that things dont look good right now, but this is one of those weird recruitments where I wouldn't be shocked if we were "out" and then suddenly a late October visit gets announced a few days beforehand and everyone freaks out.

 

[pumpdog20]

This is true also/hopefully. Most of the LL podcast was incoherent rambling but Malik did slide in one decent point. They were willing to possibly hurt their relationship with Dante for CJ. They weren’t for Vizzina. The timeline is not the same but what does that tell you about their feelings on CJ.

This is a good point, but I wonder if timing also has a thing in this? Was the Vizzina decision before Moore started messing around with his decision timeline?

 

[FWIrish4]

This is true also/hopefully. Most of the LL podcast was incoherent rambling but Malik did slide in one decent point. They were willing to possibly hurt their relationship with Dante for CJ. They weren’t for Vizzina. The timeline is not the same but what does that tell you about their feelings on CJ.

This is different though because CJ is in the class BEHIND Dante whereas Vizzina would have truly taken Dante’s 2023 spot.

 

[Dale]

This is a good point, but I wonder if timing also has a thing in this? Was the Vizzina decision before Moore started messing around with his decision timeline?

Yes before. I don’t think we know the exact conversation but I imagine they told Vizzina something to the effect of we have a QB committed when he was finalizing his visit plans and so the visit was off. I assume they expected Moore to commit by May or around then.

 

[irish o'phile]

Link:

Notre Dame 2023 Football Prospects

Pretty cool to see the term “warm”
On 247 associated with most of NDs top targets, especially considering how highly ranked they are. This year feels different than anything in recent memory.

 

[Luckylucci]

He said they could have. Not going to. Which is consistent with Clemson leading but believing ND could have had the goods to change that with a visit.

Correct, Loy said could have. In which case, seems like a lock if Freeman is the man leading the charge like he does with the top targets given the profile and timeline.

Folks are getting too hung up on the March/April visit that didn’t happen. The timeline of the Vizzina recruitment boils down to Freeman getting hired, calling Vizzina, and his December visit where Freeman told him he was the guy. At that time, ND had all the momentum in the world with him. They just didn’t follow through on that. They land Vizzina if Freeman and Rees go all in post that December visit like they, seemingly, told him they would.

 

[Dale]

calling Vizzina, and his December visit where Freeman told him he was the guy

“You're one of our top guys, so I wanted to get you on the phone”

That was Vizzina’s quote. The guy and one of our top guys are completely different quotes. The Clemson side would also tell the story differently with what it looked like ever since they offered. I again agree if you believe they could have landed him, but the could is the important part.

Notre Dame ‘a Contender’ for Top 100 QB Christopher Vizzina

Top 100 quarterback Christopher Vizzina dives deep into Notre Dame and why the Fighting Irish are a legitimate contender for his pledge.

247sports.com

 

[Dale]

IMO the most direct “what if?” is they would have, not just could have landed Avery Johnson. Vizzina is a could have. Arnold is unaffected.

 

[rtrn2glory]

All we had to do was not be greedy and take vizzina from the start and we'd legit have our best class in 10 years by the end of July