Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Way Too Early 2018 Class Predictions

Trust me; I know this is incredibly way too soon to make any educated guesses on how these guys will play over 4 years. But at the same time it is also fun to look ahead and make predictions on how the class will turn out. As of right now, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have 20 players signed and ready to come to Notre Dame. There could be more between now and the February signing period, but I am going to pick from the guys already signed.

MVP

This was rather easy for me, it is quarterback Phil Jurkovec. He is the most hyped player in the class, partly being the position he plays and Notre Dame having their fair share of struggles this year from the QB position. He is 6’5 and 215 pounds. Jurkovec is a dual threat quarterback and has shown deadly accuracy from the pocket. If Notre Dame’s season goes well, we should not see Jurkovec in 2018. That being said, would I be surprised if he is QB2 by the middle of the season next year? No. He is already that good.

Runner-Up

Another fairly easy answer for me, it is safety Derrick Allen. He stands at 6’2 and weighs 211 pounds. The reason it was so easy is because of the position Allen plays. The safety play was not up to par this year with typical Mike Elko defenses. The safeties were average at best. They had the duty of not making huge mistakes. A staple of Elko defenses is safeties that make plays. That was lacking this year. Allen is a candidate to get early playing time as he is more developed physically and has shown outstanding athletic ability.

Biggest Reach

This was hard for me since Notre Dame has a few positions that making a big reach was necessary. These are along defensive line and in the secondary. My pick is safety Paul Moala. Look, Notre Dame needs bodies in the secondary. This recruitment looks like they’re taking a risk in a local, Mishawaka kid that Notre Dame knows better than anyone. I also like the fact that Moala visited during Irish Invasion so the coaches saw him with their own eyes against higher level competition. The reason I say he is a reach is because of his offer list. The only other power 5 schools to offer him were Nebraska, Iowa, and Vanderbilt. Let’s hope that the coaching staff knows something about Paul Moala that other schools do not.

Sleeper

To me, Tommy Tremble has been flying under the radar big time. This could be because he is a consensus 3 star prospect and plays a position (tight end) that Notre Dame has good numbers and young talent at. When I look at recruits, I look for high level offers. Notre Dame beat out Michigan and UCLA for Tremble. He also had offers from Auburn and Georgia. Four years down the road I think we will be saying how underrated Tommy Tremble was coming in to Notre Dame. When I watch his highlight tape I see a raw athlete. Being 6’4 and 225 pounds, I would say he has the size and athleticism to find his way somewhere on the field.