CFB Data: Notre Dame’s 2023 Early Signee Group

Well, college football’s Early Signing Day is in the books (maybe, who knows). It was a whirlwind of activity to say the least and characterized by a ton of last-minute decisions, abundance of continued speculations and social media exchanges that will undoubtedly give us enough to content to carry us through the holidays and well into the New Year. If you were worried that there wouldn’t be enough ammunition to fill small talk during the family gatherings, you’ve been gifted with a bunch of treats.

I’ve never been much of a high school football recruiting aficionado, if for no other reason than once recruits get brought into the larger college football fold so much of the data and insights get muddied beyond recognition.

Not that they’re irrelevant but once you thrown a bunch of eighteen year old athletes onto a college campus, into the throws of already established programs and factor in the week to week chaos that has always defined college football matchups, even the best AI and/or real-life analyst are going to be left in the corner with empty beer bottles trying to figure out where things went awry.

Introduce the now chaotic business model that is driving collegiate sports and football in particular and the difference between a 4 star and 5 star lose almost all of their historical significance. Even though there is a ton of uncertainty that will derail any predictions we make about the incoming recruiting classes, there’s still a lot to learn and take in about the new signees.

So here’s some data on the Irish’s most recent pickups.

Player Details

As of Thursday night, Notre Dame has 24 official signees. When broken down by players position groups, things are roughly even distributed.

Offense/Athletes

Twelve of the signees are expected be on the offensive side of things. Kenney Minchey fills out the highly watched quarterback slot and Jeremiyah Love will be joining the program’s very talented running back group. Cooper Flanagan is the Irish’s Early Signing tight end and will be the newest member of a storied ND legacy for the position. The Irish had 4 wide receivers sign early and five offensive linemen/tackles take the plunge. Brandyn Hillman is identified as an athlete by 24/7 Sports and played both quarterback and defensive back during his high school career.

Defense

Eleven of the signees are expected to be on the defensive side of things. Notre Dame inked signatures from 4 players in the secondary, 2 cornerbacks and 2 safeties. They also laid claim to 3 linebacker and 4 defensive linemen signees.

Home Towns

Texas played the most dominant role for the Irish on Early Signing Day. Four of the signees call the Lone Star state home. California, Illinois and Ohio continue to be fertile recruiting grounds for the Irish with each of the states laying claim to 2 signees a piece. Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri and North Carolina also proved to be big contributors.

High School Type

The Irish’s early signee’s high schools are evenly split between public and private. Catholic affiliations claim dominance among the private schools, with 38% (9) of the total signee group hailing from Catholic high schools.

Final Thoughts (For Now)

If there’s one thing certain that’s come out of the early signing day theatrics, it’s that we’re all in for a wild ride this offseason. Hard data points and insights are going to be hard to come by but going to try to keep up as things take more form.

Cheers and Go Irish!!