Uncommitted targets

[JTLA]

I thought it would be valuable to compile a list of uncommitted Notre Dame targets that 247Sports analysts have weighed in on with a prediction.

Important to note, these should not be considered a percentage of likelihood to commit. It's literally a percentage of analysts predicting ND out of total analysts predicting anything. Also, analysts can change their predictions at any time, meaning more recent predictions indicate a trend which might be much more valuable than a prediction made a long time ago.

S/ATH Juju Smith 41% (trending USC)
DT Thomas Holley 7% (trending PSU)
TE Tyler Luatua 76% (trending to ND)
DT Matt Elam nada
WR/ATH Michiah Quick 50% (but Oklahoma is 'warmer')
OLB Nyles Morgan 8% (a little bit of traction - 2 predicts in the last month)
OG Braden Smith 6% (trending to TCU)
RB/ATH Nathan Starks 36% (trending to OU)
WR/ATH Isaiah McKenzie 92% (trending away from ND, I think it's clear he's ND if we'll have him)
OLB/ILB Nile Sikes 73% (trending ND)
S Payton Hendrix 70%
DE Kolin Hill 50% (wants to go to Texas, maybe Jhonathan's commit makes ND moot?)

I did not include targets without any predictions or where ND had zero percent (except Elam).
This does not mean there is zero chance in some cases.


Link: Notre Dame 2014 Football Targets

 

[Rhode Irish]

Good stuff. Thanks.

 

[Redbar]

Well done.

 

[Rizzophil]

I agree looks like three more commits for sure. I hope we get six more this cycle though

 

[irishff1014]

I thought it would be valuable to compile a list of uncommitted Notre Dame targets that 247Sports analysts have weighed in on with a prediction.

Important to note, these should not be considered a percentage of likelihood to commit. It's literally a percentage of analysts predicting ND out of total analysts predicting anything. Also, analysts can change their predictions at any time, meaning more recent predictions indicate a trend which might be much more valuable than a prediction made a long time ago.

S/ATH Juju Smith 41% (trending USC)
DT Thomas Holley 7% (trending PSU)
TE Tyler Luatua 76% (trending to ND)
DT Matt Elam nada
WR/ATH Michiah Quick 50% (but Oklahoma is 'warmer')
OLB Nyles Morgan 8% (a little bit of traction - 2 predicts in the last month)
OG Braden Smith 6% (trending to TCU)
RB/ATH Nathan Starks 36% (trending to OU)
WR/ATH Isaiah McKenzie 92% (trending away from ND, I think it's clear he's ND if we'll have him)
OLB/ILB Nile Sikes 73% (trending ND)
S Payton Hendrix 70%
DE Kolin Hill 50% (wants to go to Texas, maybe Jhonathan's commit makes ND moot?)

I did not include targets without any predictions or where ND had zero percent (except Elam).
This does not mean there is zero chance in some cases.


Link: Notre Dame 2014 Football Targets

I think we will at least end up with these 3.

 

[Ironman8]

I think Luatua and Sykes are locks.

Hendrix is pretty likely to be in this class.

Nyles Morgan went from longshot to a legitimate chance.

Charles Nelson is likely going to replace McKenzie as the slot WR in this class.

I don't think we get JuJu, Elam, Quick, Braden Smith, Hill (Texas nabs him and honestly Williams takes away a large part of need), and Holley. Starks and McKenzie likely won't be options.

If end the class with no decommits and add Luatua, Sykes, Hendrix, Nelson and Morgan I will be doing backflips. Would be a MONSTER haul.

 

[irishff1014]

I think Luatua and Sykes are locks.

Hendrix is pretty likely to be in this class.

Nyles Morgan went from longshot to a legitimate chance.

Charles Nelson is likely going to replace McKenzie as the slot WR in this class.

I don't think we get JuJu, Elam, Quick, Braden Smith, Hill (Texas nabs him and honestly Williams takes away a large part of need), and Holley. Starks and McKenzie likely won't be options.

If end the class with no decommits and add Luatua, Sykes, Hendrix, Nelson and Morgan I will be doing backflips. Would be a MONSTER haul.

I think this is about as close as you are going to see us finish with.

 

[NDohio]

I think Luatua and Sykes are locks.

Hendrix is pretty likely to be in this class.

Nyles Morgan went from longshot to a legitimate chance.

Charles Nelson is likely going to replace McKenzie as the slot WR in this class.

I don't think we get JuJu, Elam, Quick, Braden Smith, Hill (Texas nabs him and honestly Williams takes away a large part of need), and Holley. Starks and McKenzie likely won't be options.

If end the class with no decommits and add Luatua, Sykes, Hendrix, Nelson and Morgan I will be doing backflips. Would be a MONSTER haul.

Thats a great class. Add that to this years Frosh class and wow!

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

I think Luatua and Sykes are locks.

Hendrix is pretty likely to be in this class.

Nyles Morgan went from longshot to a legitimate chance.

Charles Nelson is likely going to replace McKenzie as the slot WR in this class.

I don't think we get JuJu, Elam, Quick, Braden Smith, Hill (Texas nabs him and honestly Williams takes away a large part of need), and Holley. Starks and McKenzie likely won't be options.

If end the class with no decommits and add Luatua, Sykes, Hendrix, Nelson and Morgan I will be doing backflips. Would be a MONSTER haul.

So I've posted this tool before but here it is again: 2014 Notre Dame Football Class Calculator

This finish would give a class rating of 268.45 which would have been 9th in 2013 and 2012.

 

[Ironman8]

So I've posted this tool before but here it is again: 2014 Notre Dame Football Class Calculator

This finish would give a class rating of 268.45 which would have been 9th in 2013 and 2012.

Not really worried about the class rank this year, considering the huge upside of some of our lowest rated commits. In the past, our lower rated commits didn't deserve higher rankings out of HS, and didn't have huge ceilings to project to. This year, while they may still not deserve big rankings out of HS, almost all of them have huge ceilings. Big difference.

I'd rather have a class of mostly 'high floor' guys and several 'huge ceiling, low floor' guys than mostly 'high floor' guys and several 'medium to low ceiling - medium floor' guys.

 

[ACamp1900]

Wait, we are saying ND has zero shot with Elam??

 

[Ironman8]

Wait, we are saying ND has zero shot with Elam??

He posted those stats based on the 24/7 Crystal Ball, where I believe all picks are to either Bama or UK, thus zero picks for ND.

While I think we could have a 'shot', especially if we get his mom on campus, I ultimately think we miss him.

 

[ACamp1900]

ah... thanks... crazy that Holley has more than Elam... I don't think we get either but I would say our better shot seems to be with Elam... maybe just the vibe I personally get.

 

[STLDomer]

Not really worried about the class rank this year, considering the huge upside of some of our lowest rated commits.

Matt Dickerson is still a borderline 2 on 247 (84 Rating is closer to 2 than 4). That is an absolute joke.

 

[JD Irish]

If end the class with no decommits and add Luatua, Sykes, Hendrix, Nelson and Morgan I will be doing backflips. Would be a MONSTER haul.

I think that would be a really good class, especially with Morgan. But that would still leave us with zero composite top 50 recruits. Maybe this class just doesn't have many ND-types in the top 50, but I still think we need at least one or two, immediate game-changing 5-stars each year. I hope we get the guys you mentioned and go all in and get one--hopefully Juju.

 

[Ironman8]

Matt Dickerson is still a borderline 2 on 247 (84 Rating is closer to 2 than 4). That is an absolute joke.

Agree completely on Dickerson. I love him as a prospect. His missed senior year is going to keep him severely under the radar, but he was a huge pickup.

When your 3 lowest composite commitments (besides the specialist) are Nic Weishar (absurd), Jonathon Bonner and Jhonathon Williams, you have a really good class.

 

[Ironman8]

I think that would be a really good class, especially with Morgan. But that would still leave us with zero composite top 50 recruits. Maybe this class just doesn't have many ND-types in the top 50, but I still think we need at least one or two, immediate game-changing 5-stars each year. I hope we get the guys you mentioned and go all in and get one--hopefully Juju.

To me Nyles Morgan is a top 50 prospect. I think he is like 56 right now, but there are some guys ahead of him I would dump to make room for him (Malik McDowell sprints to mind). The kid is elite.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I thought it would be valuable to compile a list of uncommitted Notre Dame targets that 247Sports analysts have weighed in on with a prediction.

Important to note, these should not be considered a percentage of likelihood to commit. It's literally a percentage of analysts predicting ND out of total analysts predicting anything. Also, analysts can change their predictions at any time, meaning more recent predictions indicate a trend which might be much more valuable than a prediction made a long time ago.

S/ATH Juju Smith 41% (trending USC)
DT Thomas Holley 7% (trending PSU)
TE Tyler Luatua 76% (trending to ND)
DT Matt Elam nada
WR/ATH Michiah Quick 50% (but Oklahoma is 'warmer')
OLB Nyles Morgan 8% (a little bit of traction - 2 predicts in the last month)
OG Braden Smith 6% (trending to TCU)
RB/ATH Nathan Starks 36% (trending to OU)
WR/ATH Isaiah McKenzie 92% (trending away from ND, I think it's clear he's ND if we'll have him)
OLB/ILB Nile Sikes 73% (trending ND)
S Payton Hendrix 70%
DE Kolin Hill 50% (wants to go to Texas, maybe Jhonathan's commit makes ND moot?)

I did not include targets without any predictions or where ND had zero percent (except Elam).
This does not mean there is zero chance in some cases.


Link: Notre Dame 2014 Football Targets

A lot of these are outdated. JuJu's likelihood will depend on the coaching choice USC makes. If it's a 'meh' hire, then he'll end up ND. If they get someone popular or even if they stick with Ed-O, he's pretty much all SC.

I'd say our chances of landing Elam are VERY good now. Alabama pretty much killed their chances when they landed Josh Frazier, and Kentucky did themselves in with their porous season. ND is pretty much the de-facto leader.

Holley is also much higher, I'd say PSU is still the leader, but it's very very close now. Elam's decision might affect his choice, but I can see Holley fit anywhere up front for us. His family is very pro-ND.

Quick is also trending more towards ND. It's still close, but I'd say it's 55/45 in favor of the Irish.

ND's chances skyrocketed when Morgan took an UV to South Bend over going to Oxford for Ole Miss-Missouri. ND's chances are VERY GOOD now. Competing with Ole Miss, but I'd say we lead now.

Braden Smith is a proverbial free-for-all with TCU out front and everyone else playing 2nd fiddle.

Starks is trending OU, as I think it would be next to impossible for him to pass through admissions.

McKenzie has scheduled his SAT and will take it in December. Pretty simple, if his score is good enough, he's Irish 100%. Best of luck to him. My favorite recruit this year.

Sikes is still trending ND and I'd be surprised if they didn't get him, though it depends on how many recruits ND will take on this year (according to many sources, they're taking a full class).

Hendrix is all Irish, thank you Watkins

Unfortunately, Hill will most likely commit to Texas the instant they offer him.

So, in conclusion, I believe ND has the inside track on either Elam/Holley or both possibly, Luatua, Morgan, Sykes and Hendrix. McKenzie will join if he makes the grade (fingers crossed), Quick is close, but ND is leading, and Hill, B.Smith and Starks are all longshots at best.

 

[Crazy Balki]

He posted those stats based on the 24/7 Crystal Ball, where I believe all picks are to either Bama or UK, thus zero picks for ND.

While I think we could have a 'shot', especially if we get his mom on campus, I ultimately think we miss him.

I don't agree at all. Alabama basically pulled themselves out of the race for Elam after they picked up Josh Frazier. Too much of a logjam at DT to entice Elam. UK is just a joke at this point. Proximity to home can only go so far in getting a recruit. ND is the best pick at this point. It may take a while to sink in, but ND is the only choice at this point.

 

[NDdomer2]

ndsean you keep saying same thing about elam and it is not the case.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I think Luatua and Sykes are locks.

Hendrix is pretty likely to be in this class.

Nyles Morgan went from longshot to a legitimate chance.

Charles Nelson is likely going to replace McKenzie as the slot WR in this class.

I don't think we get JuJu, Elam, Quick, Braden Smith, Hill (Texas nabs him and honestly Williams takes away a large part of need), and Holley. Starks and McKenzie likely won't be options.

If end the class with no decommits and add Luatua, Sykes, Hendrix, Nelson and Morgan I will be doing backflips. Would be a MONSTER haul.

Morgan went from no chance, to legit chance to pretty much a lock.

I agree about JuJu, Braden Smith and Starks. I disagree with you on Elam/Holley. I don't understand what is the deal with people right now not believing we have as shot at them. Alabama was the leader, and ND was right behind them, then Bama got Frazier, which pretty much eliminated them. Bama has their nose guard, and there's a huge logjam at DL already. It's now down to ND-UK and ND is a HUGE leader. UK's porous season is doing them in. Holley is also a legit option, though PSU still leads, his family is pro-ND.

 

[Pachuco]

Time to pull up the boot straps and go to work on Stanford. That's all I have to say.

 

[pkt77242]

A lot of these are outdated. JuJu's likelihood will depend on the coaching choice USC makes. If it's a 'meh' hire, then he'll end up ND. If they get someone popular or even if they stick with Ed-O, he's pretty much all SC.

I'd say our chances of landing Elam are VERY good now. Alabama pretty much killed their chances when they landed Josh Frazier, and Kentucky did themselves in with their porous season. ND is pretty much the de-facto leader.

Holley is also much higher, I'd say PSU is still the leader, but it's very very close now. Elam's decision might affect his choice, but I can see Holley fit anywhere up front for us. His family is very pro-ND.

Quick is also trending more towards ND. It's still close, but I'd say it's 55/45 in favor of the Irish.

ND's chances skyrocketed when Morgan took an UV to South Bend over going to Oxford for Ole Miss-Missouri. ND's chances are VERY GOOD now. Competing with Ole Miss, but I'd say we lead now.

Braden Smith is a proverbial free-for-all with TCU out front and everyone else playing 2nd fiddle.

Starks is trending OU, as I think it would be next to impossible for him to pass through admissions.

McKenzie has scheduled his SAT and will take it in December. Pretty simple, if his score is good enough, he's Irish 100%. Best of luck to him. My favorite recruit this year.

Sikes is still trending ND and I'd be surprised if they didn't get him, though it depends on how many recruits ND will take on this year (according to many sources, they're taking a full class).

Hendrix is all Irish, thank you Watkins

Unfortunately, Hill will most likely commit to Texas the instant they offer him.

So, in conclusion, I believe ND has the inside track on either Elam/Holley or both possibly, Luatua, Morgan, Sykes and Hendrix. McKenzie will join if he makes the grade (fingers crossed), Quick is close, but ND is leading, and Hill, B.Smith and Starks are all longshots at best.

You my good sir are an unabashed homer.

 

[ThePiombino]

You my good sir are an unabashed homer.

Lmao I was all ears until he declared Morgan a lock

 

[STLDomer]

We are not the defacto leader for Elam nor is Morgan a lock

 

[Crazy Balki]

We are not the defacto leader for Elam nor is Morgan a lock

I simply do not agree...well, okay I wouldn't call Morgan a 'lock', but I do believe we lead for him at the time. Him taking the visit for the BYU game was a HUGE telling sign that he's leaning towards us though, because he decided not to visit for the Ole Miss-Missouri game, which was a much bigger game.

However, I stand by my original statement about Elam. I simply cannot see a scenario where he still ends up at Alabama. They already have Josh Frazier. That's the key! With Frazier already on board, it makes it less likely that Bama will try to recruit another NG (And there's no arguing, BOTH Frazier and Elam are solely Nose Guards). Not to mention that it makes it less appealing to him, as there is a logjam in the middle now that Frazier's committed. They have A'Shawn Robinson and Darius Page from last year's class, Frazier along with OJ Smith and Johnny Dwight from this year's class, on top of Brandon Ivory and Darren Lake who are both most likely returning next season. That is SEVEN NOSE GUARDS! You're telling me that Elam will go to Alabama where he has to compete for playing time with SEVEN other players!? Nuh-uh. And Kentucky!? You can forget it. Their recruiting class is like a Jenga tower just waiting to crumble. After this disastrous season, no way does Elam commit there.

Here's my issue with everybody. Did we just forget that ND is going into next year WITHOUT a nose guard!? Did I miss something here!? You're telling me that ND isn't pursuing either Elam or Holley, hell I haven't even heard anything about Marcus Griffin. Where is the sense of urgency with this recruitment. Turns out that when running a 3-4, it's kinda important to have a freakin' Nose Guard! Sure, Jarron Jones looked good against BYU, but a) I'm not totally convinced that he's the NG of the future. b) 1 NG isn't enough and that should've been made crystal clear with the Nix injury. Unless ND is planning on moving Mustipher or Montelus to NG, then I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that the staff isn't running over mailboxes to recruit this big hoss. Fact of the matter remains, ND's major competition, ALABAMA, has taken themselves out of the race.

 

[anarin]

Lmao I was all ears until he declared Morgan a lock

Good thing that both of you have the same knowledge of what will finally happen.

I like his optimism

 

[STLDomer]

I simply do not agree...well, okay I wouldn't call Morgan a 'lock', but I do believe we lead for him at the time. Him taking the visit for the BYU game was a HUGE telling sign that he's leaning towards us though, because he decided not to visit for the Ole Miss-Missouri game, which was a much bigger game.

However, I stand by my original statement about Elam. I simply cannot see a scenario where he still ends up at Alabama. They already have Josh Frazier. That's the key! With Frazier already on board, it makes it less likely that Bama will try to recruit another NG (And there's no arguing, BOTH Frazier and Elam are solely Nose Guards). Not to mention that it makes it less appealing to him, as there is a logjam in the middle now that Frazier's committed. They have A'Shawn Robinson and Darius Page from last year's class, Frazier along with OJ Smith and Johnny Dwight from this year's class, on top of Brandon Ivory and Darren Lake who are both most likely returning next season. That is SEVEN NOSE GUARDS! You're telling me that Elam will go to Alabama where he has to compete for playing time with SEVEN other players!? Nuh-uh. And Kentucky!? You can forget it. Their recruiting class is like a Jenga tower just waiting to crumble. After this disastrous season, no way does Elam commit there.

Here's my issue with everybody. Did we just forget that ND is going into next year WITHOUT a nose guard!? Did I miss something here!? You're telling me that ND isn't pursuing either Elam or Holley, hell I haven't even heard anything about Marcus Griffin. Where is the sense of urgency with this recruitment. Turns out that when running a 3-4, it's kinda important to have a freakin' Nose Guard! Sure, Jarron Jones looked good against BYU, but a) I'm not totally convinced that he's the NG of the future. b) 1 NG isn't enough and that should've been made crystal clear with the Nix injury. Unless ND is planning on moving Mustipher or Montelus to NG, then I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that the staff isn't running over mailboxes to recruit this big hoss. Fact of the matter remains, ND's major competition, ALABAMA, has taken themselves out of the race.

Elam doesn't care about Frazier and Bama is still recruiting him and lead for him IMO.

It's a lot easier for Morgan to just go to ND for a game than Ole Miss (used his OV earlier). Ole Miss I would still lead for Nyles though the gap is closing.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Elam doesn't care about Frazier and Bama is still recruiting him and lead for him IMO.

It's a lot easier for Morgan to just go to ND for a game than Ole Miss (used his OV earlier). Ole Miss I would still lead for Nyles though the gap is closing.

That'd be very foolish of Elam. He may not have openly said anything about it, but I HIGHLY doubt that this doesn't affect his decision. Bama may still be recruiting him, but not nearly as hard. Meanwhile, ND SHOULD be going full throttle for him. Needless to say, the attention Elam should be getting will be primarily from ND.

While that maybe, visiting ND for a game between unranked foes over a game between ranked foes at one of the best gameday locations is a huge win and it just shows the recent spike in attention Morgan is giving to ND over the past few weeks. Not to mention that our secret ace in the hole, Jay Hayes was sitting alongside him. That pretty much says it all.

 

[pkt77242]

That'd be very foolish of Elam. He may not have openly said anything about it, but I HIGHLY doubt that this doesn't affect his decision. Bama may still be recruiting him, but not nearly as hard. Meanwhile, ND SHOULD be going full throttle for him. Needless to say, the attention Elam should be getting will be primarily from ND.

While that maybe, visiting ND for a game between unranked foes over a game between ranked foes at one of the best gameday locations is a huge win and it just shows the recent spike in attention Morgan is giving to ND over the past few weeks. Not to mention that our secret ace in the hole, Jay Hayes was sitting alongside him. That pretty much says it all.

Actually you are completely wrong. He has said something openly about it and it is that he doesn't care who else is committed to a school, it won't affect his decision.

Also you have a terminal case of homerism.