Newsstand: The Athletic re-ranks 2020 Notre Dame recruiting class
After four college seasons, the book is nearly closed on Notre Dame’s 2020 recruiting class. Only five players remain, although four — safety Xavier Watts, defensive tackle Rylie Mills, Vyper Jordan Botelho and offensive tackle Tosh Baker — are projected 2024 starters.
In his re-ranking of each school’s 2020 class — based on a scoring system that awarded 0-5 points to each player depending on what they accomplished — The Athletic’s Max Olson slotted the Irish at 12th. Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Missouri, Iowa, Clemson, TCU, Texas, LSU and Tulane were the programs ranked higher.
The headliner of Notre Dame’s class of 2020, both at the time and in hindsight, was tight end Michael Mayer. He broke several records in his prolific three-year career.
“This class might not be considered one of the strongest of the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame, but it still helped the Irish win a lot of games,” Olson wrote. “Mayer quickly emerged as one of college football’s best tight ends, becoming a two-time All-American and a second-round draft pick. Watts enjoyed an incredible breakout season as a Nagurski Award winner and unanimous All-American in 2023.”
Top 10
- 1New
Urban Meyer
Coach alarmed by UT fan turnout at OSU
- 2
Bowl insurance
Historic policies for Hunter, Shedeur
- 3Hot
CFP home games
Steve Spurrier calls for change
- 4
Nick Saban endorsed
Lane Kiffin suggests as commish
- 5
Diego Pavia
Vandy QB ruling forces change
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
For Olson’s full story, click here.
Notre Dame tweets of the day
One of the greatest to ever don the blue and gold, in any sport.
Since the start of 2023, Tyler Buchner has been on quite a journey.
The future of Notre Dame’s offense:
Quote of the day
“I think that whole family, the competitive drive that they have is really unique. And it’s not just on game days. It’s competitive drive to get better. So they’re working on their skills. They’re working on all the things that you need to do to be a great player. It’s the competitive drive that knows that in a game like this you’re not going to be able to do it by yourself so you better bring everybody along with you and they do that on an everyday basis.
It would be hard to overstate the impact that the Kavanagh family has had on our program, in all honesty, and Pat and Chris, the past couple of years: We’re sitting here, right?”
— Notre Dame head men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan on the Kavanagh brothers
Headlines of the day
- The Gold Standard: Expert insight on three key Fighting Irish targets
- Hey Horka! What does the House settlement mean for Fighting Irish football?
- Top-100 safety JaDon Blair has commitment date set, ready for next official visits
- 95 days until Notre Dame football: Recapping Jordan Faison’s two-sport freshman year
- What they’re saying about Notre Dame men’s lacrosse winning back-to-back national titles
- Everything Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan said after national title win No. 2
- Three things I’m wondering as Notre Dame football enters key recruiting stretch
- What back-to-back Notre Dame national titles mean to the Kavanagh brothers
- On3’s Steve Wiltfong predicts Notre Dame football to land commitment from key recruiting target
- Men’s basketball roster reset: Who’s in, who’s out and who’s back for the Irish 2024-25
- Notre Dame men’s basketball 2024-25 roster tiers
- Lucky Charms: Fighting Irish recruiting intel from On3 Elite Series
- Six 2026 recruits who I could see committing to Notre Dame football
