Marcus Freeman And Notre Dame Football On Top of 2023 Recruiting Classes

Notre Dame stayed in-house to hire new head coach Marcus Freeman, and with their latest signings, the Irish stand on top of the Rivals 2023 recruiting classes. The cupboard was not bare when Brian Kelly packed his bags and left for LSU.

Christian Gray is a 4-year high school starter at cornerback who can fly. He joins Marcus Bell, another corner who is ranked #55 overall and the #8 cornerback on 247 sports. That brings the count to 19 players in the Notre Dame fold for the class of 2023. That includes one 5 Star athlete and 17 Four Stars.

Brian Kelly and LSU are not having the same success early on in the 2023 class. They are ranked at 24th overall in Rivals, with 11 total players. There are no 5 stars and 7 four stars. Of course, it is early in the recruiting process. Remember, Kelly left Notre Dame in April saying this on the way out, "I felt like we had both got to a point where this is what they could do, right? This is what I did. And we couldn't get past that. Okay? And so here we are."

Brian Kelly brings the flash and the marketing. He said last year was his best coaching job at Notre Dame. The team went 11-1, with no final top 25 wins, and a loss in their bowl game. Marcus Freeman faces a much tougher schedule, opening the year against Ohio St., and facing North Carolina and USC on the road. They also host Clemson.