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Notre Dame Football: The recruiting and scholarship numbers for 2020

You don’t need a calculator for recruiting math.

By Joshua Vowles
Houston Griffith notre dame football
Houston Griffith
Mike Miller/One Foot Down

There was a lot of roster movement that went down on Maundy Thursday for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Earlier in the day we found out that cornerback Noah Boykin put his name in the transfer portal, and then the Irish got a commitment from 4-Star DE/LB hybrid Jordan Botelho.

Botelho’s announcement gives the Irish 7 commitments in the 2020 class and pushes them to #9 in the 247 Composite Team Rankings.

Notre Dame Football’s 2020 Commit List (17)

POSITION PLAYER STATE HT WT RIVALS ESPN -247- 247 COMPOSITE COMMIT DATE SIGNED
POSITION PLAYER STATE HT WT RIVALS ESPN -247- 247 COMPOSITE COMMIT DATE SIGNED
QB Drew Pyne Connecticut 6'1"` 175 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/16/18 ✅☘️
TE Kevin Bauman New Jersey 6'5" 232 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6/13/18 ✅☘️
TE Michael Mayer Kentucky 6'5" 240 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 7/1/18 ✅☘️
DE Alexander Ehrensberger Germany 6'7" 238 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/31/19 ✅☘️
DT Aidan Keanaaina Colorado 6'3" 292 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2/13/19 ✅☘️
WR Jordan Johnson Missouri 6'2" 180 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/6/19 ✅☘️
DE/LB Jordan Botelho Hawaii 6'3" 230 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/18/19 ✅☘️
LS Alex Peitsch Washington D.C. 6'6 220 KOHLS 5⭐️ KOHLS 5⭐️ KOHLS 5⭐️ KOHLS 5⭐️ 4/24/19 ✅☘️
DE Rylie Mills Illinois 6'5" 275 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/6/19 ✅☘️
OT Tosh Baker Arizona 6'8" 275 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/8/19 ✅☘️
RB Chris Tyree Virginia 5'9" 178 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/23/19 ✅☘️
CB Clarence Lewis New Jersey 6'0" 185 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6/10/19 ✅☘️
OT Michael Carmody Pennsylvania 6'6" 285 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6/16/19 ✅☘️
WR Jay Brunelle Massachesetts 6'1" 210 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6/26/19 ✅☘️
CB Caleb Offord Mississippi 6'1" 175 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 7/4/19 ✅☘️
WR Xavier Watts Nebraska 6'1" 185 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 7/5/19 ✅☘️
CB Ramon Henderson California 6'2" 185 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 12/18/19 ✅☘️

Here’s something that’s interesting: the Irish have a commitment from the #1 player in three different states (Johnson, Payne, and Botelho) and a commitment from the #2 player in a fourth state (Mayer).

But here’s why we’re really here... the scholarship numbers for 2020. How many recruits can the Irish take this cycle?

I think we should always be under the assumption that Notre Dame is going to take no less than 20 recruits each cycle. The lowest number of recruits Brian Kelly has brought in since his arrival to Notre Dame was 17 in 2012. That class saw 5 transfers, but it also provided some HUGE contributors. It was a class that I think Kelly learned a lot from, and won’t likely repeat again.

If Notre Dame takes at least 20 in this recruiting cycle, there are at least 9 names (probably 10 though) that are on the chart below that will have to leave. As the chart stands right now, Notre Dame has only 5 more scholarships left to give. If one of those belongs to Marist Liufau, that brings it down to 4 more for a class of 11.

It’s going to get tricky, but not really.

2020 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart

Position / Year Freshmen Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year
Position / Year Freshmen Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year
Quarterback Drew Pyne Brendon Clark* - - Ian Book
Running Back Chris Tyree Kyren Williams* Jahmir Smith*, C'Bo Flemister* Jafar Armstrong*, Avery Davis* -
Tight End Michael Mayer, Kevin Bauman - George Takacs*, Tommy Tremble* Brock Wright -
Wide Receiver Jordan Johnson, Jay Brunelle, Xavier Watts Kendall Abdur-Rahman* Micah Jones*, Kevin Austin*, Braden Lenzy*, Lawrence Keys III*, Joe Wilkins* Javon McKinley, Bennett Skowronek
Center - Zeke Correll* Jarrett Patterson* - -
Guard - Hunter Spears* John Dirksen* Dillan Gibbons*, Aaron Banks* Tommy Kraemer, Colin Grunhard
Tackle Tosh Baker, Michael Carmody Andrew Kristofic*, Quinn Carroll* - Robert Hainsey, Josh Lugg* Liam Eichenberg
Defensive Tackle Aidan Keanaaina, Rylie Mills Howard Cross*, Jacob Lacey Jayson Ademilola, Ja'mion Franklin* Kurt Hinish, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa -
Defensive End Alexander Ehrensberger, Jordan Botelho NaNa Osafo-Mensah*, Isaiah Foskey* Justin Ademilola*, Ovie Oghoufo* Kofi Wardlow* Ade Ogundeji, Daelin Hayes
Linebacker - Jack Kiser*, Osita Ekwonu*, Marist Liufau*, JD Bertrand* Bo Bauer, Jack Lamb*, Shayne Simon, Paul Moala Drew White*, Jordan Genmark Heath, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah* -
Safety - Litchfield Ajavon*, Kyle Hamilton D.J. Brown*, Houston Griffith Isaiah Pryor* -
Cornerback Clarance Lewis, Caleb Offord, Ramon Henderson K.J. Wallace*, Isaiah Rutherford*, Cam Hart*, TaRiq Bracy - Shaun Crawford**, Nick McCloud
Specialists Alex Peitsch (LS) Jay Bramblett - Jonathan Doerer -
Totals 17/85 (17) 38/85 (21) 60/85 (22) 75/85 (15) 85/85 (10)
*Eligible For 5th Year **Eligible For 6th Year

As daunting as that number sounds, you can start to see how that all might happen once you go through all of the names. Will certain guys take a fifth year? Will another couple decide to look elsewhere for playing time? Will a few more look to leave early for the NFL?

It’s all pretty normal anymore.

Will talk more later about positional breakdown and even possible candidates for departure, but as we start to roll towards the next few months and possible commitments, it’s a good idea to keep the base numbers in check.

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