How does On3 actually rank Notre Dame’s 2024 class compared to the industry?

Last week, On3 updated its 2024 recruit rankings, and there was social media and message board commotion regarding Saline (Mich.) High signal-caller and Notre Dame commit CJ Carr being listed as the No. 192 overall prospect and No. 14 quarterback in America.

I saw a lot of tweets — many of them directed towards this writer — saying that On3 hates Notre Dame and drops all the Irish’s commits after they commit to ND. While On3 rates Carr the lowest, what about the rest of the class?

I sorted through the data to take a look at who On3 has ranked the highest and lowest compared to the industry among Notre Dame’s commits, plus all the players in the middle.

You can see all this data yourself here.

On3 has ranked the highest

Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South WR Cam Williams: It’s not by a great margin, but when you’re talking about spots in the top 50, the difference is more profound. On3 ranks Williams as the nation’s No. 35 overall recruit and No. 7 wide receiver; Rivals has him the next highest at No. 49 overall and No. 10 at his position.

Lufkin (Texas) High RB Kedren Young: This is one of the bigger ranking outliers in the entire class, as On3 has him as the No. 92 prospect and No. 6 running back, while no other site has him in the top 200 in their national rankings. The next-highest position ranking is ESPN at No. 14.

Katy (Texas) Paetow EDGE Loghan Thomas: The industry can be all over the place on how they list defensive linemen, which will be a trend throughout the article. Rivals has designations for strong side defensive ends, weak side defensive ends and outside linebackers, and with all the interchange that can happen at those spots, it’s tricky.

In Thomas’ case, On3 does have him ranked highest in its national rankings at No. 168, while the next highest is No. 186. Rivals lists him highest in their own position rankings, as it has Thomas at No. 8 in the weak side defensive end rankings. Thomas is at No. 16 in On3’s EDGE rankings. I’d understand if one thinks Thomas shouldn’t be listed in this category, but he is highest in national and state rankings by On3. But again, it’s just the position rankings that can be so diluted when it comes to pass rushers.

Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern OL Styles Prescod: On3’s ranking of Prescod is a huge outlier. On3 ranks the in-state prospect as the No. 179 prospect and No. 9 interior lineman nationally. Two other sites have him as a three-star player, and ESPN has Prescod as a four-star recruit outside of its national rankings.

Charlotte (N.C.) Christian EDGE Bryce Young: On3 ranks the son of Irish legend Bryant Young as the No. 194 prospect and No. 19 EDGE. 247 Sports and ESPN have Young as a three-star player, while Rivals has Young as a four-star player outside of its national rankings. This is another huge outlier for On3.

Roswell (Ga.) High OL Anthonie Knapp: He’s a prospect who moved up a good bit after committing to the Irish. Knapp is the No. 184 overall recruit and No. 10 interior offensive lineman nationally per On3. The other rankings all have Knapp as a three-star player.

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Middle of the pack

As one should expect, a majority of Notre Dame’s commits are in this category. On3 doesn’t rank these prospects the highest but not the lowest, either.

Charlotte (N.C.) Christian WR Micah Gilbert: All sites have Gilbert ranked as a four-star. ESPN has him ranked lowest; 247 Sports is highest on Gilbert.

Hannibal (Mo.) High RB Aneyas Williams: One could argue that Williams should be in the lowest category, but it’s splitting hairs. ESPN doesn’t have him in their top 300, while Williams sneaks into the On300 at No. 295. ESPN has Williams listed as the No. 23 running back; On3 has him at No. 24. The Missouri state rankings are the same at No. 7.

Round Rock (Texas) High CB Leonard Moore: Rivals loves Moore, having him as their No. 198 recruit and No. 21 cornerback in America. ESPN has Moore the lowest in their position rankings.

Roanoke (Va.) Patrick Henry LB Bodie Kahoun: Rivals lists Kahoun as a four-star prospect, and 247 Sports has him ranked lowest.

Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller CB Karson Hobbs: The industry is in agreement on Hobbs’ ranking. He’s a three-star across the board, and 247 Sports has him highest at No. 43 in the position rankings, while ESPN is lowest at No. 54.

Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek EDGE Cole Mullins: Like I wrote about with Loghan Thomas, pass rusher rankings can be wonky, but there’s still pretty much a consensus on Mullins. His position rankings span between No. 46 and No. 54. On3 is in the dead middle at No. 50. He’s a three-star across the board for now, but don’t be surprised if he shoots up the rankings this fall. There are high expectations for Mullins for his senior year.

Chandler (Ariz.) High S Kennedy Urlacher: He’s a consensus three-star. Rivals has him highest as the No. 33 safety nationally; ESPN is lowest at No. 87.

West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West ATH/S Taebron Bennie-Powell: There were a couple tricky ones (Aneyas Williams and Loghan Thomas) where I gave On3 the positive edge. I could put Bennie-Powell in the category where On3 ranks highest because his “athlete” ranking is No. 22 at On3 and the next highest position ranking is ESPN at No. 60, but he’s listed as a safety there. His state ranking is lowest at On3. So I wasn’t really sure what to make of this, so I figured placing Bennie-Powell here is safe.

Omaha (Neb.) Westside ATH/LB Teddy Rezac: His ranking is similar to Bennie-Powell’s because some list him as a linebacker and others athlete. But for the sake of where On3 ranks Rezac, he’s the No. 32 athlete here and No. 130 over at 247 Sports.

On3 has the lowest

And for the part of the article everyone is waiting for!

Saline (Mich.) High QB CJ Carr: One of the more intriguing rankings to say the least by On3. It should be noted that ESPN and Rivals have designations for pocket passer/pro-style and dual-threat quarterbacks which I think is archaic to do, and this dilutes quarterback rankings. But in terms of national rankings, Carr is a top-40 overall player everywhere but On3, which has him at No. 192, as mentioned earlier in the article.

Fort Wayne (Ind.) North Side ATH Tae Johnson: The “athlete” position is tricky because there’s just so much variation. All four sites have Johnson listed as an athlete, but to show the variation, On3 actually lists Johnson higher in the athlete position rankings than 247 Sports and ESPN, but the national ranking by On3 is lower. You could argue that Johnson belongs in the middle of the pack, but my guess is that ESPN lists a lot more players as “athletes” than On3 does.

You’d think this would be a cut and dry exercise, but this just goes to show truly how subjective rankings can be.

Malvern (Pa.) Prep OL Peter Jones: ESPN and Rivals have Jones as a four-star prospect, while 247 Sports and On3 rank him a three-star. Jones is 22 spots higher in 247’s position rankings compared to On3.

Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic TE Jack Larsen: He’s one who has slid down the rankings across the board over the past year, which is puzzling. He’s a four-star per ESPN and Rivals but outside their national rankings. On3 has Larsen as the No. 41 tight end in the land, 11 spots lower than 247’s position rankings.

Clearwater (Fla.) Academy International DL Sean Sevillano: On3 only has two defensive line designations (DL and EDGE), while others have an outside linebacker category which often includes pass rushers (for the 10th time, D-line designations are weird), so it’s more likely for On3 to have players ranked lower in position rankings because of this.

I’ll list Sevillano here but there’s an argument for middle of the pack. On3’s position ranking is lowest at No. 64, but the state rankings are similar to national rankings, and On3 has him at No. 82 in Florida, while he’s No. 88 in the state per ESPN.

I made a pie chart for our visual learners for the full breakdown.