Way-too-early look at Notre Dame's standing in On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking
Notre Dame landed a commitment from Lawrence (Mass.) Central Catholic class of 2023 linebacker Preston Zinter on Friday, giving the Irish nine verbal pledges in the cycle, tied for second-most in the country.
According to the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking, Notre Dame’s 2023 class ranks second nationally behind USC, a program that only has three commitments. How can this be?
First, one needs to understand how the On3 ranking works. It is different than what our readers who came over from Rivals are used to.
The On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking is the only ranking that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies: On3, 247Sports, Rivals.com and ESPN. It equally weighs the four media companies at 25%.
It solves the problem of varying class sizes during the recruiting cycle. It compiles the highest-rated commits for each team up to a total based on a rolling average of current total commitments among Power Five schools.
The current average number of commits used in the rankings score is six. This means that of Notre Dame’s nine commitments, only the six highest-ranked players are used for the rankings score.
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With this model, there are no bonus points for having more commitments than other teams and only small deductions occur when a team has fewer commitments than the rolling average. Unlike distribution (bell) curves, this model doesn’t disproportionately weigh a team’s top three or four highest rated commits and is a more accurate representation of an entire class.
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The On3 Consensus recruit rankings creates a specific rating. For example, Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep defensive end and Irish commit Keon Keeley has an On3 Consensus rating score of 96.05. When averaging Notre Dame’s entire 2023 class of nine verbals, the score comes out to 92.05.
But when taking just the rolling average of three, the Irish’s Team Ranking average is 93.504. This is the score used for the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking, as seen in the image below.
Going back to USC being No. 1 – the Trojans have three commitments, two of whom ranks as five-star prospects per the On3 Consensus. Their ranking average sits at 94.807. Their total is docked slightly for being under six commitments, but the Trojans’ total – for now – edges Notre Dame’s.
While there’s no perfect rankings system this early on, it’s also a bit futile to put a whole lot of stock into what class rankings look like 10 months before National Signing Day. Still, it’s fun to discuss, and we find it important for Fighting Irish fans to get familiar with the On3 team ranking system.
Trailing behind Notre Dame in the On3 Team Ranking for the 2023 class is Georgia, Penn State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Michigan State.
For more details on the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking, click here.
