With three five-star prospects, Notre Dame’s 2023 class reaches a height not seen in a decade
The bump to five-star status Notre Dame commit Peyton Bowen earned Monday in the updated 2023 On300 rankings pushed the Irish’s class further into rare air. Bowen, a safety from Denton (Texas) Guyer, jumped 19 spots to become the No. 18 player in the class and No. 2 at his position.
Not only did his ranking boost help the Irish retake the No. 1 spot from Ohio State in the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings, but it also gave them three five-star commits this cycle.
Notre Dame hasn’t landed a class featuring that many five-stars in a decade.
Bowen joins Tampa Berkeley Prep defensive end Keon Keeley (No. 3 overall) and Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman offensive tackle Charles Jagusah (No. 6) as On3 five-star recruits in Notre Dame’s 2023 class. If the Irish hang onto that trio, they will sign at least three players ranked as five-star recruits by any active major recruiting service (On3, Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN) in a single class for the first time since 2013.
PROMOTION: Sign up for just $1 for your first year at Blue & Gold
All told, Notre Dame has had three cycles since 2000 – the first year of star rankings– where at least one outlet dubbed three or more signees a five-star prospect.
Here’s a look at the Notre Dame signing classes with three or more five-stars, according to each the four major ranking services.
On3 Consensus (2004-present)
The inaugural On300 debuted for the 2021 class. The On3 Consensus, though, was retroactively applied to 2004 and weighs all available rankings for a cycle equally.
Notre Dame signed three On3 Consensus five-stars in the 2011 class: defensive end Aaron Lynch (No. 17 overall), defensive lineman Ishaq Williams (No. 25) and defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt (No. 30). The Irish also pulled in three in 2008: quarterback Dayne Crist (No. 15), wide receiver Michael Floyd (No. 25) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (No. 32). In 2013, they landed linebacker Jaylon Smith (No. 3), defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes (No. 5) and safety Max Redfield (No. 32).
(Vanderdoes was later released from his letter of intent and enrolled at UCLA).
Notre Dame has signed five classes with two five-stars, according to the consensus: 2006, 2007 and 2013. The 2006 group had running back James Aldridge and offensive tackle Sam Young. The 2007 five-star duo was quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Duval Kamara. Smith and Vanderdoes are the only Irish signees since 2004 to be ranked a five-star at Rivals, 247, ESPN and in the consensus.
Rivals (2000-present)
In 2013, Notre Dame signed four players that Rivals ranked as five-stars: Smith (No. 3), running back Greg Bryant (No. 19), Vanderdoes (No. 21) and Redfield (No. 30).
Rivals also graded Rudolph (No. 20), Crist (No. 25) and Floyd (No. 27) as five-stars in the 2008 class. The Irish’s 2006 class (Aldridge and Young) and 2011 class (Williams, Tuitt) had two five-star signees.
247Sports (2010-present)
The 247Sports Composite goes back to 2000. Its own rankings began in the 2010 cycle. The latter has not graded three Notre Dame signees as five-star prospects in one class since its inception. The former rated Smith, Vanderdoes and Redfield five-stars in 2013.
Floyd and Crist were composite five-stars in 2008, and Rudolph nearly joined them. He was the highest-ranked composite four-star that year. Young and Aldridge were composite five-stars in 2006, as were Clausen and Kamara in 2007. Smith and Vanderdoes were 247 five-stars in 2013.
ESPN (2010-present)
ESPN’s rankings debuted in 2006, but did not include stars until 2010. Notre Dame has not signed three ESPN five-stars in one class. It has landed two just once – 2013 (Smith and Vanderdoes).
