WATCH: On3 recruiting expert reviews top Notre Dame commits in 2023 class
As it currently stands, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has the No. 1 2023 recruiting class in the nation. According to the On3 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings, the Irish’s 12 commits have a score of 93.810, just topping No. 2 USC at 92.699.
Each of the commits still has a senior season in front of him, and on Wednesday, On3 director of recruiting and scouting Charles Power joined Mike Singer of Blue & Gold and discussed which prospects he is most excited to see this fall.
Here are a few tidbits Power shared:
Four-star tight end Cooper Flanagan
The 6-5, 222-pound tight end plays high school football for Concord (Calif.) De La Salle in the Bay Area, which is also Notre Dame EDGE Isaiah Foskey’s former school. Flanagan committed to Notre Dame on Sept. 2. Per On3 Consensus, he is the No. 13 player from California, and the No. 12 tight end and No. 196 player nationally.
Power can’t wait to get another look at Flanagan, preferably outside of his typical offensive scheme.
“He plays high-profile football out there in Northern California,” Power said. “(I’m looking forward to) getting more looks at him as an actual pass-catcher. They’ve run the same veer offense there for 30 years. It can be difficult assessing a tight end in that offense.”
The Veer is an option offense. In other words, there is a lot of action from the running backs and presumably a mobile quarterback. Power is hoping to get a better look at Flanagan at a camp where he can more easily show off his receiving skills.
A lack of game film on Flanagan should not be a concern, however. Despite the run-heavy offense at De La Salle, they have a history of producing talented tight ends, including former Stanford player and current Tennessee Titan Austin Hooper.
Four-star defensive end Devan Houstan
Power is also excited to see the newest member of the 2023 class play high school football this fall for Hagerstown (Md.) St. James. Houstan committed to Notre Dame on May 7 and is the No. 6 player from Maryland, and the No. 28 defensive lineman and No. overall216 player in the country. Houstan is originally from Canada, and his junior season was his first in the United States.
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“A lot of times when we see these international prospects, maybe less so from Canada, it can be a transition coming over to the United States and playing high school football,” Power said. “He really had no issues with that transition at all.
“When you look at his frame, his stature, and his brother is an NBA prospect at Michigan, I think he might have the capacity to continue growing into his body. I’m really interested to see how he progresses.”
Houstan’s older brother, Caleb, is a 6-8 Michigan small forward who declared for the NBA Draft after just one year with the Wolverines. He averaged 10.1 points per game last season, made a team-high 60 three-pointers and was one of just two Michigan players to start all 34 games.
Power went on to tout Houstan’s pass-rushing abilities, which are less common with bigger interior linemen.
“I think that there’s a premium on that,” Power added.
The 2023 Notre Dame defensive line commits as a whole are a hot topic recently, as Notre Dame already has four: Houstan, Keon Keeley, Brenan Vernon and Boubacar Traore. If Freeman and defensive line coach Al Washington can land four-star Jason Moore out of the Washington D.C. area, the Irish defensive line class will only be composed of top-300 recruits. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Notre Dame has a 92.7 percent chance of landing the lineman.
