When was the last time Notre Dame had three top-200 WR commits in one class?
Notre Dame is back atop the 2023 On3 Consensus rankings after landing four-star Austin (Texas) Westlake wide receiver Jaden Greathouse on Friday, overtaking Ohio State as the two powers continue flip-flopping between the No. 1 spot.
With the addition of Greathouse, who is the No. 21 wideout and No. 128 player overall in the 2023 class per On3 Consensus, head coach Marcus Freeman now has three top-200 wide receivers in the class pledged to the Irish. Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point’s Braylon James and Folsom (Calif.) High’s Rico Flores round out the group. James is the No. 24 wideout and No. 146 player overall, while Flores checks in at No. 28 and No. 171, respectively.
When was the last time Notre Dame signed three top-200 wide receivers in a single class? Well, never. At least not since 2004, the earliest year On3 has retroactively applied its “Consensus” recruiting ranking. That is also around the time online rankings started to flourish across the country; few sites go back further. In other words, this is a big deal for Notre Dame.
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The Irish have, however, notched two top-200 players at the position on six occasions since 2004.
- 2021: Lorenzo Styles (No. 66 nationally) and Deion Colzie (No. 102)
- 2018: Kevin Austin (No. 115) and Braden Lenzy (No. 194)
- 2016: Javon McKinley (No. 103) and Chase Claypool (No. 156)
- 2015: Miles Boykin (No. 182) and Equanimeous St. Brown (No. 185)
- 2008: Michael Floyd (No. 25) and Deion Walker (No. 179)
- 2007: Duval Kamara (No. 26) and Golden Tate (No. 45)
Excluding the three players listed above who are still at Notre Dame, five the remaining nine were taken in the NFL Draft. Four of them — Tate, Floyd, Boykin and Claypool — were selected in the first three rounds. Floyd was the highest pick, as the Arizona Cardinals chose him with the No. 13 overall selection in 2012.
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While Lenzy remains on the roster at Notre Dame attempting to break into the NFL Draft conversation, Styles and Colzie are the only complete duo still playing for the Irish. The early returns have been exciting, particularly with Styles. He ended his freshman campaign on a high note, catching eight balls for 136 yards and his first career touchdown against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. Styles finished with a total of 24 receptions for 344 yards and the aforementioned score. The 6-2, 195-pound Ohio native also had an exciting 37-yard run against Virginia in November.
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Of course, Greathouse, James and Flores are still verbal pledges to the Irish; they will not sign on the dotted line until December. But if Freeman can keep the three four-star recruits in his 2023 class, Notre Dame could see immense success at the position in a couple of years.
