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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are struggling right now with their running back recruiting. As the months roll on, we see one Irish running back target after another commit elsewhere, or show little interest in coming to South Bend.
Maybe things are about to change?
Georgia running back, Derrian Brown just released his top 10 on Twitter and the Irish have made the cut along with the Florida State Seminoles, Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas Longhorns, Alabama Crimson Tide, and LSU Tigers.
I want to thank all 34 schools that offered for believing in me and @Coach_Davis22 and @fordtough301 for helping me through the process!!! Here is my Top 10..... pic.twitter.com/VgvzPQqOCT
— Derrian Brown ® (@BrownDerrian) June 10, 2018
Brown is a 4 Star from Buford High School — the same school that produced former Irish great, Darius Walker. His name hasn’t been on the tip of every Notre Dame recruiting analyst’s tongue over the past few months, but showing up in his top 10 certainly gives the Irish a chance to WOW him.
It’s hard to say how much mutual interest there is with Brown and Notre Dame. Could this top 10 selection just be a tip of the cap to Autry Denson and a school with a better academic profile than his other nine finalists? Perhaps, but given Notre Dame’s need at the position, their newfound enthusiasm for Georgia recruiting, and a roster in 2019 that could very well have an immediate opening for playing time... the Irish could be a serious player here if they put in the work.
Notre Dame has still not received a commitment from an offensive skill player for the 2019 class. If you’re frustrated about running back recruiting, it’s even more frustrating with wide receivers, and every Irish quarterback recruit with an offer is committed elsewhere. Despite all of that, the Irish still have the #9 ranked class right now according to 247 Sports Composite team rankings thanks in part to an excellent defensive haul so far — and of course a lights out punter.
2019 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart
Position/Year | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position/Year | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th Year |
Quarterback | Brendon Clark | Phil Jurkovec* | Ian Book* | ||
Running Back | Kyren Williams | Jahmir Smith*, C'Bo Flemister* | Jafar Armstrong* | Tony Jones Jr.* | |
Tight End | ⭐️ | George Takacs*, Tommy Tremble* | Cole Kmet, Brock Wright | ||
Wide Receiver | Cam Hart, Kendall Abdur-Rahman | Micah Jones*, Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy*, Lawrence Keys III*, Joe Wilkins Jr.* | Michael Young, Isaiah Robertson | Chase Claypool, Javon McKinley* | Chris Finke |
Center | Zeke Correll | Jarrett Patterson* | Trevor Ruhland | ||
Guard | John Olmstead | John Dirksen* | Dillan Gibbons*, Aaron Banks* | Tommy Kraemer* | |
Tackle | Andrew Kristofic, Quinn Carroll | Cole Mabry* | Robert Hainsey, Josh Lugg* | Liam Eichenberg* | |
Defensive Tackle | Jacob Lacey, Hunter Spears | Jayson Ademilola, Ja'mion Franklin* | Kurt Hinish, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa* | ||
Defensive End | Howard Cross, NaNa Osafo-Mensah, Isaiah Foskey | Justin Ademilola*, Ovie Oghoufo* | Kofi Wardlow* | Ade Ogundeji*, Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara, Jamir Jones | |
Linebacker | Jack Kiser, Osi Ekwonu, Marist Luifau, JD Bertrand | Matt Bauer, Jack Lamb*, Shayne Simon, Paul Moala | Drew White*, Jordan Genmark Heath, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah* | Jonathan Jones* | Asmar Bilal |
Safety | Litchfield Ajavon, Kyle Hamilton | D.J. Brown* | Jalen Elliott, Alohi Gilman* | ||
Cornerback | K.J. Wallace, Isaiah Rutherford | Tariq Bracy, Houston Griffith | Avery Davis* | Troy Pride Jr., Donte Vaughn | Shaun Crawford** |
Specialists | Jay Bramblett | John Doerer | John Shannon* | ||
22/85 (22) | 46/85 (24) | 63/85 (17) | 80/85 (17) | 84/85 (4) |