All of my recruits thus far have been pretty highly ranked so I'm not sure I'll have much of a sleeper. But my #1 recruit is most obviously the #1 recruit in the country, WR Michael Flowers. Flowers has size at 6'4, speed running a 4.42 and already has decent receiving skills as they are all rated in the C's. He will redshirt his freshman season and see the field probably sparingly as a redshirt sophomore. (As he will be behind the nations #1 and #3 WR's from each of the past two classes. The Irish seem to be cleaning up at the wide receiver position. However, it helps that each of the last 3 seasons, the #1 WR in the nation has been from Ohio, a state in Notre Dame's pipeline.)
My sleeper/instant impact recruit has got to be the nation's #1 tight end, Courtney Stuckey. Stuckey has great size for a tight end at 6'6 but only has mediocre speed running a 4.64. Stuckey does have good receiving skills though as his catching and catch in traffic are both B-'s, but his route running and release attributes are both C-'s. Stuckey should be a force in Notre Dame's rushing attack as he has good blocking skills, especially in the run game. Stuckey will see the field as the 2nd tight end next year as head coach Jhawk plans to redshirt former juco transfer Willie Lundy next year in his senior season. Lundy is going after his graduate degree and so will be around for two more years and asked coach Hawk if he could redshirt next year so that he's got a chance to improve enough to play at the next level once he finishes his degree. Stuckey will then redshirt his true sophomore season as Lundy and Travis Marshall will start.
The Irish, while not having one of their best years on the recruiting trails, have still done decent, pulling in the nation's top recruits in more than a couple positions. They have received commitments from the #1 WR, #2 WR, #1 TE, #1 T, #4 T, #1 CB, #1 SS, and #1 K. The Irish hope to finish the season strong and find one or two more strong recruits in the offseason who they can gain letters of intent from. The future looks bright in South Bend.
My sleeper/instant impact recruit has got to be the nation's #1 tight end, Courtney Stuckey. Stuckey has great size for a tight end at 6'6 but only has mediocre speed running a 4.64. Stuckey does have good receiving skills though as his catching and catch in traffic are both B-'s, but his route running and release attributes are both C-'s. Stuckey should be a force in Notre Dame's rushing attack as he has good blocking skills, especially in the run game. Stuckey will see the field as the 2nd tight end next year as head coach Jhawk plans to redshirt former juco transfer Willie Lundy next year in his senior season. Lundy is going after his graduate degree and so will be around for two more years and asked coach Hawk if he could redshirt next year so that he's got a chance to improve enough to play at the next level once he finishes his degree. Stuckey will then redshirt his true sophomore season as Lundy and Travis Marshall will start.
The Irish, while not having one of their best years on the recruiting trails, have still done decent, pulling in the nation's top recruits in more than a couple positions. They have received commitments from the #1 WR, #2 WR, #1 TE, #1 T, #4 T, #1 CB, #1 SS, and #1 K. The Irish hope to finish the season strong and find one or two more strong recruits in the offseason who they can gain letters of intent from. The future looks bright in South Bend.
