What’s Notre Dame’s status? A 2023 offensive prospect RPM check-in

Recruiting is ramping up for the class of 2023, as many prospects will travel all over the country in the coming months to view practice and spring games. Then they will gear up for official visits.

Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 2 in the country according to On3, and the Irish still have a number of big-time prospects considering making South Bend their next home. Here is a look at a few offensive recruits heavily considering Notre Dame per On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Note: This list includes uncommitted players only, and prospects are listed in order of decreasing RPM in favor of the Irish.

Four-star offensive tackle Charles Jagusah

School: Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 2 offensive tackle, No. 1 player from Illinois, No. 37 player nationally
On3 RPM: Notre Dame 96.8%, Iowa 1%

Jagusah is a five-star prospect according to On3, but his On3 Consensus falls just short and puts him in the four-star group. Regardless, the Western Illinois prospect would be a huge get for the Irish. The 6-6, 300-pound lineman could be the next player to give a pledge to the Irish. If he did so, he would be the first offensive lineman in the class.

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There are three predictions in for Jagusah from On3’s director of recruiting Chad Simmons, Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and The Wolverine’s EJ Holland. All predictions are with 60 percent confidence in favor of the Irish. Iowa is the other school technically in the mix, which makes sense for an offensive line prospect.

Five-star quarterback Dante Moore

School: Detroit Martin Luther King
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 4 quarterback, No. 1 player from Michigan, No. 15 player nationally
On3 RPM: Notre Dame 64.4%, Michigan 23.1%

Undoubtedly, the 6-2, 195-pound signal-caller is one of the top — emphasis on top — targets in this class. An elite talent coveted by many, Moore would be the highest-rated quarterback to choose Notre Dame since Jimmy Clausen did so in 2007. Moore is keeping his recruitment rather quiet, but on Saturday, he hinted he may be in South Bend at the end of March.

Moore’s status is swayed in favor of the Irish after Singer posted a prediction for Notre Dame to land him.

Four-star wide receiver Malik Elzy

School: Chicago Simeon
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 52 wide receiver, No. 5 player from Illinois, No. 346 player nationally
On3 RPM: Notre Dame 49.2%, Ole Miss 17.2%, Illinois 17.2%

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Notre Dame has a wide receiver depth problem, and they need to sign a big 2023 wideout class. Elzy could be part of it, and the Irish are making him a priority. The Chicago native has a great relationship with fellow Chicagoan, Illinois graduate and offensive analyst Dre Brown, who aids with Irish recruiting. He previously served as the Tennessee director of recruiting for a few months in 2021 before making the move to South Bend.

The two schools just behind Notre Dame make a lot of sense for the 6-2, 195-pound wideout, albeit for different reasons. Ole Miss runs a pass-heavy, Air Raid-esque offensive attack and has become immensely popular with high-level receivers. Illinois, of course, is Elzy’s home-state school.

Four-star offensive tackle Monroe Freeling

School: Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside Collegiate Academy
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 5 offensive tackle, No. 1 player from South Carolina, No. 59 player nationally
On3 RPM: Clemson 58.1%, Notre Dame 35.7%

Notre Dame landed the No. 1 player out of South Carolina in 2022 in linebacker Jaylen Sneed. Can they do it again? It won’t be easy.

Clemson is pushing hard to land Freeling. They hosted the in-state prospect on campus in early March, and he wants to take an official visit back to Clemson. There is good news for Notre Dame as well: Freeling wants to get to the Irish spring game, and he knows he wants to make one of his additional four official visits to South Bend. He’s a big fan of offensive line coach Harry Hiestand.

Freeling is huge; he’s 6-7.5 and 285 pounds. If Notre Dame can land both Jagusah and Freeling, two of the nation’s top-five offensive tackles would be headed to Notre Dame. Not bad.

Five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate

School: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 2 wide receiver, No. 4 player from Florida, No. 13 player nationally
On3 RPM: Ohio State 96.2%, Notre Dame 2.6%

This is an interesting one. Despite the fact that Notre Dame has a small chance to land Tate per the On3 RPM, the chances might be a little higher upon further review. Tate is visiting Notre Dame on March 17, a huge recruiting day for the Irish. The 6-2, 178-pound pass catcher is very close with Moore, and the two may be a package deal.

Although he chose to play high school football in Florida, Tate is a Chicago native intimately familiar with Notre Dame. Ohio State as the other option is unsurprising given both Tate’s Midwest ties and the recent success Ohio State has had at his position.