Mailbag: How will Notre Dame finish the 2024 recruiting class?

Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer asked the Lou Somogyi Board for questions about Notre Dame recruiting for a mailbag article. The questions and answers are below.

Rockne1988 asks: Pretty generic, but who do we close with and how many do we take this class?

I’m loving where the Irish are at with West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial’s Guerby Lambert, who ranks as the No. 51 overall player and No. 4 offensive tackle per the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking. I think the Irish land him at some point later this month or in August.

Linebacker and wide receiver are the other two spots that Notre Dame is looking to add players at. Industry sources believe that Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco’s Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, the No. 109 prospect and No. 8 linebacker per the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking, is leaning towards Ohio State, but folks on the Irish side of things are pretty optimistic. Regardless of what Viliamu-Asa does, Notre Dame plans to take a third linebacker in the class.

And the staff will also take a third receiver. While I still like the Irish to land Viliamu-Asa, it’s still too early to project who they’ll land at receiver. The staff is sorting through its options.

Lambert, a linebacker and a wide receiver would put Notre Dame at 23. I’d guess they end up with 24 or 25 when it’s all said and done and then land five or so new transfers after the season as well.

And then there’s American Fork (Utah) High safety Davis Andrews, who would be listed as a 2024 commit but wouldn’t count towards the scholarship numbers until 2026. I like Notre Dame to land him, but again, he’s a prospect who would get to South Bend 2.5 years from now.

EGIrish asks: If ND only lands Lambert from the current targets/offers out how do you feel about the class? How Freeman and Co. did on closing on guys that they preferred?

I like and appreciate the questions, but we need to stop this way of thinking. Don’t think about the class in terms of how things look in a span of a few months. I don’t care if they do or don’t close strong; I care about the class in its entirety.

In your scenario, a class that includes Lambert, CJ Carr, Cam Williams, Aneyas Williams and Kedren Young among others on offense is simply outstanding and probably the best offensive haul the Irish have landed since I started covering the team. And I don’t care at what point they committed; it all counts the same.

The staff could’ve done a better job defensively for sure, but you could have a special pass rusher in Loghan Thomas, and I feel that Tae Johnson has huge upside at the safety position.

I think Notre Dame will finish in the top-10 of the 2024 team rankings, which would be three years in a row of doing so. I don’t think the Irish have ever done that in the internet era. That’s got to be raising the bar for Notre Dame recruiting, right?

EGIrish asks: How far into the season would you expect some new offers to go out for guys that blow up in their senior season?

It’s usually after three or four games that you’ll see this. But it’s not a guarantee that Notre Dame will extend new offers in the 2024 class. If they get Lambert, Viliamu-Asa and could land a player at receiver who they have already offered, then there’s no need for new offers.

Personally, I think they will offer new prospects though. It just always seems to happen in the fall.

EGIrish asks: Of the 2025 class who do you think may be next to commit? Possibly at the end of the month?

There are a few players to keep an eye on. There are the three I wrote about in Lucky Charms last night as well as Wisconsin offensive tackle Owen Strebig. It’s also possible that Mississippi quarterback Deuce Knight pops in favor of the Irish if his visit at the end of the month is a home run.

The post Mailbag: How will Notre Dame finish the 2024 recruiting class? appeared first on On3.