2020 Linebacker Recruiting
2020 LB Roster (12 scholarships)
RS SR Jonathan Jones
SR Jordan Genmark-Heath
RS JR Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
RS JR Drew White
JR Bo Bauer
JR Shayne Simon
JR Paul Moala
RS SO Jack Lamb
RS FR Osita Ekwonu
RS FR Marist Liufau
RS FR Jack Kiser
RS FR JD Bertrand
2020 LB Recruiting (1-2 spots)
.9985 5* Justin Flowe - CA - FAR - Never Visited
.9585 4* Noah Sewell - UT - FAR - Never Visited
.9499 4* Curtis Jacobs - MD - FAR - 6/23/18 - PENN STATE COMMIT
.9434 4* Trenton Simpson - NC - FAR - Never Visited
.9321 4* Kevin Swint - GA - FAR - Never Visited - CLEMSON COMMIT
.9125 3* Mohamed Kaba - NC - FAR - Never Visited
.8900 3* Cody Simon - NJ - FAR - 3/23/19
This is where I run into trouble because I do not really know who is a drop vs. a linebacker. After going through twitter and IE for a little while I moved a bunch of guys to different positions and am left with a rather small list. Kalel Mullings I recently saw Lance Taylor was speaking to him about RB with DeaMonte Trayanum. I also saw Drew Sanders, Mekhail Sherman, Jordan Botelho, Eric Shaw, Mitchell Melton, and others were being recruited for the Drop position by Elston instead of Mike, Buck or Rover. Now I may have missed a few so I'd love the help in figuring out who is being recruited at what position.
As for the recruiting there's not a lot to look at. I really don't know what kind of board ND is looking at because they have 12 scholarship guys projected to return which is a ton. In my opinion, Jonathan Jones is playing his last season at ND in 2019 so there will be a spot that does open up, but that isn't a guarantee because the starting jobs are pretty wide open still. Noah Sewell is a surprise offer because he's the opposite kind of linebacker that ND is looking for in that he is shorter and stouter (260+ lbs) than most guys they recruit. Now I've heard he can move and is a tremendous talent, but I'm not sure where he'd fit in other than Mike unless he can rush the passer. I think the staff is actively recruiting Trenton Simpson, Mohamed Kaba, and Cody Simon but I am not sure what kind of interest these prospects have in ND aside from Simon. Simpson and Kaba have never been to ND and it is hard to predict they'll come to South Bend for college if they haven't made it to campus. I think the only realistic option right now is Cody Simon and I saw LuckyLucci mention the staff might not hold a spot for him (depending on his timeframe). There's a dangerous precedent set when it comes to skipping on a position altogether so I believe we'll see some movement on this position group soon enough and especially in April/May with a new evaluation period fast approaching. The last spring evaluation period saw Lea go in person to many linebackers around the country and watch them work out so he may be doing that again to find some more targets.
2020 LB Roster (12 scholarships)
RS SR Jonathan Jones
SR Jordan Genmark-Heath
RS JR Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
RS JR Drew White
JR Bo Bauer
JR Shayne Simon
JR Paul Moala
RS SO Jack Lamb
RS FR Osita Ekwonu
RS FR Marist Liufau
RS FR Jack Kiser
RS FR JD Bertrand
2020 LB Recruiting (1-2 spots)
.9985 5* Justin Flowe - CA - FAR - Never Visited
.9585 4* Noah Sewell - UT - FAR - Never Visited
.9499 4* Curtis Jacobs - MD - FAR - 6/23/18 - PENN STATE COMMIT
.9434 4* Trenton Simpson - NC - FAR - Never Visited
.9321 4* Kevin Swint - GA - FAR - Never Visited - CLEMSON COMMIT
.9125 3* Mohamed Kaba - NC - FAR - Never Visited
.8900 3* Cody Simon - NJ - FAR - 3/23/19
This is where I run into trouble because I do not really know who is a drop vs. a linebacker. After going through twitter and IE for a little while I moved a bunch of guys to different positions and am left with a rather small list. Kalel Mullings I recently saw Lance Taylor was speaking to him about RB with DeaMonte Trayanum. I also saw Drew Sanders, Mekhail Sherman, Jordan Botelho, Eric Shaw, Mitchell Melton, and others were being recruited for the Drop position by Elston instead of Mike, Buck or Rover. Now I may have missed a few so I'd love the help in figuring out who is being recruited at what position.
As for the recruiting there's not a lot to look at. I really don't know what kind of board ND is looking at because they have 12 scholarship guys projected to return which is a ton. In my opinion, Jonathan Jones is playing his last season at ND in 2019 so there will be a spot that does open up, but that isn't a guarantee because the starting jobs are pretty wide open still. Noah Sewell is a surprise offer because he's the opposite kind of linebacker that ND is looking for in that he is shorter and stouter (260+ lbs) than most guys they recruit. Now I've heard he can move and is a tremendous talent, but I'm not sure where he'd fit in other than Mike unless he can rush the passer. I think the staff is actively recruiting Trenton Simpson, Mohamed Kaba, and Cody Simon but I am not sure what kind of interest these prospects have in ND aside from Simon. Simpson and Kaba have never been to ND and it is hard to predict they'll come to South Bend for college if they haven't made it to campus. I think the only realistic option right now is Cody Simon and I saw LuckyLucci mention the staff might not hold a spot for him (depending on his timeframe). There's a dangerous precedent set when it comes to skipping on a position altogether so I believe we'll see some movement on this position group soon enough and especially in April/May with a new evaluation period fast approaching. The last spring evaluation period saw Lea go in person to many linebackers around the country and watch them work out so he may be doing that again to find some more targets.