Sampson: Notre Dame has made key strides in recruiting, even if results don't show it (2024)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — If the end result reminded Marcus Freeman of how long it will take to run down college football’s elites as the Playoff expands, how Notre Dame got to the early signing period should at least give the Irish coach confidence in his program’s orientation.

Because when Freeman unveiled Notre Dame’s 23-man recruiting class, six-man (for now) transfer haul and new strength coach Loren Landow, he did it with an earned optimism that cut against the postseason tumult that’s enveloped the past three weeks.

Last year, Freeman arrived at signing day with an NIL problem, a rash of decommitments and an uneven debut season at his back. His offensive coordinator was about to bolt after picking up a top transfer quarterback. And some of the framing Wednesday wasn’t that different, even if the departures of Tommy Rees and Gerad Parker aren’t the same, nor are the additions of Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard. But as Freeman offered a state of the union, he was comfortable in his own skin in a way he couldn’t be a year earlier.

Recruiting may still be a results game, and Freeman referenced that if someone’s keeping score, he wants to win. And Notre Dame’s results this cycle aren’t all that different from the year prior. Notre Dame signed another class ranked at the back of the top 10 that’s balanced but not overly starry at the top, even if CJ Carr, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Cam Williams move the needle. Yet how the Irish got here feels a world apart. Maybe because Freeman had a full two-year cycle to make his recruiting pitch. Probably because of what he learned in Year 1.

“The best thing to me was the zero decommitments in senior seasons,” Freeman said. “That showed that these young people want to be here and they have close relationships to each other. It’s a strong class. And they’re a close class. And that’s also a credit to our coaches and (recruiting director) Chad Bowden and our recruiting staff, making sure that we keep these guys together.

“Because until they actually sign, there’s always people pulling at ’em.”

All rankings via the 247Sports Composite.

Last year, those forces picked apart Notre Dame’s class. The Irish lost eight commitments, six after July 1 when the summer recruiting calendar shifts toward the season. This cycle, Notre Dame lost just three commitments and held steady with this 23-man class after four-star offensive tackle Guerby Lambert picked Notre Dame over Harvard on Sept. 19, back when the Irish were undefeated, Hartman was a Heisman Trophy candidate and “10 men” wasn’t a loaded term.

A lot happened to Notre Dame football after this recruiting class landed its final commitment, not all of it good. But the Irish staff held this class together through it all — the losses, opt-outs and coaching changes. Freeman is right that it’s a compliment to his staff’s work, but it’s also a nod to the evaluations by Notre Dame and college football’s new underwriting campaign in the NIL space.

Since last year, Notre Dame has matured in NIL, both in terms of the funds at the program’s disposal and how they’re allotted. The first step was significant, proof Notre Dame would play in an arena where it wasn’t clear it would go. But the second step hasn’t been participation, it’s been activation. Notre Dame now has an NIL war chest and a creative way to use it. There’s proof of concept in how FUND (Friends of the University of Notre Dame) managed the last year, too, spreading the wealth but also concentrating it where it’s needed.

That’s how Notre Dame can sign a 23-man class and the best quarterback from the transfer portal (Freeman’s words), to go with a readymade defensive end, two productive receivers, a new nickelback and a reliable kicker. These things don’t happen just because of alumni networks, “4-for-40” or shiny facilities (current and future). They take a collective ability to navigate the NIL world, even if Notre Dame has particular ideas of how to proceed.

“Our collective, FUND, is tremendous,” Freeman said. “And they’ve been committed to making sure that this football program and this university can continue to compete for championships. And they do it in such a unique way, in the Notre Dame way.

“As NIL continues to change, there will be change I’m sure in future, but the group is committed to making sure we are in a position to compete for championships.”

Freeman likes to tell prospects to choose Notre Dame for what won’t change because so much does in college football. So don’t pick a school for the coaches because they won’t be there for a prospect’s full career, or even their full recruitment. Chansi Stuckey, largely responsible for assembling Notre Dame’s standout group of receivers, was let go less than a month before signing day. Parker, in charge of the offense Leonard committed to, departed for Troy weeks after the Duke quarterback made a decision.

And yet, change was good to Notre Dame over the past year, from the NIL initiatives to how the Irish staff scouted this haul. Freeman said the staff got in-person evaluations on the entire class, a departure from the previous cycle. It remains to be seen how those evaluations will match these players’ college careers, but going deeper with the talent Notre Dame chased probably helped keep it locked into place through Wednesday.

“I think it starts with the relationship,” Freeman said. “It starts with, you can’t relax when a kid’s committed. You have to continue to pour time in building that relationship and trust. But it’s also the ability to continue to sell Notre Dame. And reminding them up front, this is what you are choosing. Don’t choose this place because of a coach. Don’t choose this place because of just what you believe in NIL. There’s so many different reasons to choose this place. And when they made the decision, we remind them of that.”

Notre Dame still needs to find another level in recruiting to get where Freeman wants to take the program. The head coach knows that, having faced Ohio State twice with Notre Dame and taking Georgia to the wire with Cincinnati. If the Irish are going to ultimately win a national title under Freeman, Notre Dame will have to keep enhancing, building and adapting. These are permanent states of mind for Freeman. It just hasn’t always been clear if Freeman had the correct coordinates for where he wanted to take Notre Dame.

On signing day, there was evidence Freeman had the right map.

From sitting on his office balcony with Carr last summer, landing the first commitment in Notre Dame’s class, to securing the transfer of Leonard almost 18 months later, the Irish seem to be moving in the right direction.

(Photo: Brandon Sloter / Image Of Sport / Getty Images)

Pete Sampson is a staff writer for The Athletic on the Notre Dame football beat, a program he’s covered for the past 21 seasons. The former editor and co-founder of Irish Illustrated, Pete has covered six different regimes in South Bend, reporting on the Fighting Irish from the end of the Bob Davie years through the start of the Marcus Freeman era.