No one’s going to look at Notre Dame’s 2015 recruiting class and immediately think “National Championship”. The Irish landed top players at quarterback, tight-end, center and kicker as well a slew of promising players at other positions, but the Irish came up short (or at least questionable) at a number of key positions.

Less of a headline, but possibly more important going forward, the Irish had their 3rd straight top ten class that has both numbers and talent.   That kind of stability is important, especially after Notre Dame’s disastrous 2012 class (which continues to haunt Kelly and the Irish.) Notre Dame finally seems to have created some recruiting consistency. Recruiting holes, as I’ve said before, show up like clock-work.

Here’s the breakdown by position in order of relative ranking, with the caveat that the comments are really a synthesis of different comments and services. (The ratings below are from Rivals.) At this moment the Irish are still waiting three key recruits (starred below) in Dexter Williams, Equanimeous St. Brown and Nathan Meadors.  The first two are expected to sign the latter is 50/50-ish.

Quarterback – A

If there’s one player who stands out in this class as a difference-maker it’s quarterback Brandon Wimbush. Wimbush possesses possibly the strongest arm in the country as well as 4.6 speed.   He completed over 70% of his passes and averaged over 11 yards per carry on his way to a state title.   He has the raw materials to be an outstanding quarterback in Notre Dame’s system.

Brandon Wimbush

QB

Jersey City, NJ St. Peter’s Prep

6’1″

212

4 stars

 

Kicker – A

Kickers are never going to get anyone overly excited (nor do they apparently warrant stars,) but Justin Yoon might just be worth getting excited about. Yoon kicked field goals of 31, 32 and 47 yards in the all-star game and is Rivals top ranked kicker. He stood out at kicker camps and will give ND a reliable weapon from 50 yards on in as a freshman.

Justin Yoon

K

Milton, MA Milton Academy

5’11”

185

3 stars

 

Tight End – A

Alize Jones was a fantastic late recruiting season steal from UCLA. Jones is a tall thin tight end with great hands and speed (in the mold of Tyler Eifert ) who will immediately become a pass catching threat.   Notre Dame’s reputation as Tight End U remains in tact.

 

Alize Jones

TE

Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman

6’5″

220

4 stars

 

Linebacker – A/B

The Irish did extremely well at linebacker this year. Many onlookers thought Josh Barajas the best linebacker at the Army All-American game this year and Asmar Bilal was right behind him. Both linebackers are fast, highly productive and can hit. Bilal will need to put on weight to be effective, but he turned some heads when he went up against the nation’s best.   At the Under Armour game Tevon Coney was a solid player and showed surprising agility.   Bo Wallace played against lesser competition in the Semper-Fi game, but he dominated with speed on the outside. The Irish are positioning Wallace as a defensive end, but at 215 pounds he’ll need to spend some time in the weight room.

 

Tevon Coney	LB	Palm Beach Gardens, FL Palm Beach Gardens	6’0″	221	4 stars
Josh Barajas	LB	Merrillville, IN Andrean	6’3″	212	4 stars
Asmar Bilal	LB	Indianapolis, IN Ben Davis	6’3″	196	4 stars
Bo Wallace	LB	River Ridge, LA John Curtis	6’4″	215	3 stars

 

Wide Receiver – B

There isn’t one five-star guy at wide receiver, but every recruit here has potential to be a excellent wide receiver.   Miles Boykin is a giant already and ran a 4.51 40 at the Opening.   All-namer Euqanimeous St. Brown (if he commits) is a 6’5” speedster with great hands (and has two younger brothers that were offered by ND.) CJ Sanders ran a 4.32 40 at the Opening and a 10.64 100 meters in track. Just 5’8”, his speed will allow him to score from anywhere on the field.   Finally, the overlooked Jaylon Guyton was one of the most productive receivers in the country and averaged over 20 yards a catch. There isn’t a reach in the bunch and all of them have potential.

 

Miles Boykin	WR	New Lenox, IL Providence Catholic	6’3″	225	4 stars
*Equanimeous St. Brown	WR	Anaheim, California	6’5″	190	4 stars
CJ Sanders	WR	Sherman Oaks, CA	5’8″	185	4 stars
Jalen Guyton	WR	Allen, TX Allen	6’1″	185	3 stars

 

Running Back – B (maybe)

After missing out on Soso Jamabo and Ronald Jones II, Notre Dame fans were understandably distraught with recruiting at running back.

Josh Adams came off ACL surgery to have a spectacular senior year and while there’s a lot of concern about his knee and his competition, there’s also a lot of excitement. Dexter Williams was a late target for the Irish, but he could turn out to be a steal if he signs. Dexter has the athlete label on him right now (with a 44 inch vertical leap), but has the raw materials to become an excellent running back for the Irish .

 

*Dexter Williams	RB	Orlando, Florida	5’11”	195	4 stars
Josh Adams	RB	Warrington, PACentral Bucks Hs-south	6’3″	210	3 stars

 

Offensive Line – C

There’s no doubt that Notre Dame scored a home run with Tristen Hoge. Hoge is Rivals’ top ranked center and one of the best prospects in the country.   Trevor Ruhland is an undersized player, but one with a real nasty streak.   If he every fills out he could be a great Zach Martin type player for the Irish down the line, but there certainly is some question about his size. With Jerry Tillery moving to defense, the Irish came up short on both talent and numbers this year.

Tristen Hoge	OL	Pocatello, ID Highland	6’4″	285	4 stars
Trevor Ruhland	OL	Cary, IL Cary Grove	6’4″	275	3 stars

 

Defensive Line – C

There aren’t any sure things on the defensive line, but the Irish brought in a lot of raw ingredients.   Tillery was pegged for offensive tackle, but he has the athleticism, size and low base to make an excellent defensive tackle.   Elijah Taylor had offers from many of the top schools in the country. He’s an incredibly strong kid who throttled the inside in High School, but he wasn’t a dynamic playmaker until later in his senior year.   Dew-Treadway and Tiassum are two really interesting recruits. Both have great frames and show cased surprising ability at times and both were completely ineffective in all-star games. Because this is such a hard position for ND to recruit and kids generally have to mature into the position, I think Notre Dame has to take kids like Tiassum and Dew-Treadway. Others think Notre Dame went bottom fishing too early. Regardless, ND has some raw material to work with here.

Jerry Tillery	DT	Shreveport, LA Evangel Christian	6’6″	314	4 stars
Micah Dew-Treadway	DT	Bolingbrook, IL Bolingbrook	6’5″	273	3 stars
Elijah Taylor	DT	Cincinnati, OH Moeller	6’3″	285	3 stars
Brandon Tiassum	DT	Indianapolis, IN Park Tudor School	6’4″	296	3 stars

 

Defensive Back – C

Shaun Crawford, all 5’9” of him, is an extremely talented cornerback, but he’s going to battle against his height during his career. Nick Coleman is slotted for the other corner position as is Ashton White. Coleman has surprising athleticism and White has a good offer list (Virginia Tech/Ohio State), but neither is considered a top ranked player at this point.   When the Irish lost Prentice McKinney at safety, they were left scrambling. Mykelti Williams is a really athletic kid (yes that’s four Indiana kids on defense) that the Irish were lucky to land late in the game. Nico Fertitta hits like a truck for his size, but at 5’9” that’s a small size for a college safety. The Irish are chasing athlete Nathan Meadors who would be a solid last minute addition (he’s choosing between Notre Dame and UCLA), but even if Meadors commits the Irish clearly stumbled here on talent.

 

Shaun Crawford	DB	Lakewood, OH St. Edward	5’9″	170	4 stars
Mykelti Williams	DB	Indianapolis, IN Warren Central	6’0″	185	4 stars
Nick Coleman	DB	Kettering, OH Archbishop Alter	6’0″	175	3 stars
Nicco Fertitta	DB	Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman	5’9″	172	3 stars
Ashton White	DB	Forestville, MD Bishop McNamara	5’11”	182	3 stars
* Nathan Meadors	DB	San Bernardino, California	6’1″	186	3 stars

*Decides on signing day