Since Notre Dame football is on a current hiatus from playing college football, I thought I would take a break from reporting about current COVID-19 related problems and dive into the current 2021 recruiting class. Notre Dame has continuously brought in promising talent year after year. This year should be no different. Currently, the Irish have a well-rounded group of prospects. Out of this class, nine of those players are part of the ESPN 300. From Jayden Thomas to Deion Colzie, Notre Dame should be proud of the progress it has made thus far. Considering many of their recruits were being scouted by many other football programs, there is no doubt that Notre Dame is doing something right in the college football recruiting industry.
2020 Challenges
As if this year was not challenging enough for everyone, Notre Dame dealt with a new obstacle it had not faced before. When it came to recruiting, the Irish had to be creative and strategic. Due to COVID, in-person events were forbidden for much of the year. Without in person meet-ups and interviews, it was going to be harder for Notre Dame to ensure it was picking the right players for their team.
Brian Polian is one of Notre Dame’s recruiters. For him, it seemed as if this year would be a potential bust in finding the correct talent. With Zoom interviews becoming the new normal, it was very unknown at first if these young athletes would be what they said they were. Luckily, those Zoom interviews seemingly went well.
Jayden Thomas
One of the most recent verbal commits, Jayden Thomas will bring size and stamina. A wide receiver, Thomas gained national attention and is currently ranked 218th in ESPN’s best high school players. One of Thomas’ highlights is catching 21 passes for 238 yards in five games as a junior. Not only is his resume exceptional, but he was recruited by other great college football programs. Being from Atlanta, it was no question Georgia would be asking Thomas if he wanted to be a Bulldog. Other programs pulling Thomas’ interests included Ohio State, LSU and Michigan.
Deion Colzie
Colzie has already made an impression on the Irish. Originally being committed to Notre Dame in 2019, he made the abrupt decision to decommit in March and sign with USC. This might have come as a shock to ND, but nonetheless, it continued to work its magic and impressively convinced Colzie to recommit this September. During his decommitment, Colzie was also being pulled by teams like Florida and Tennessee. In the 2021 recruiting class, he is ranked the ninth for best wide receiver and No. 71 for overall talent. That being said, Colzie is quite the catch for the Irish.
Other commits that are worth mentioning include Tyler Buchner, Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Cane Berrong. These individuals all share the same national attention, whether that be in rankings or by overall attention by college football programs.
So far, this class is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Maybe the luck of the Irish is in full force this year.
Photo by Lauren Fritz and John Ning | The Observer
My name is Claire Frego and I am a senior at the University of Dayton. As an aspiring journalist, I love to share my passion of sports with everyone. This college football season, I will be focusing on Notre Dame. Whether you are an Irish fan or just want to keep up with football this season, I invite you to follow along on my journey as I continue to write and gain knowledge about this crazy world of sports!