(UHND.com) – Earlier today rivals.com reported that offensive line prospect Andrew Nuss has become the 8th commitment for the Irish in this year’s recruiting class. Nuss, a guard prospect from Virginia, picked the Irish over the likes of Georgia, Boston College, Virginia, and Maryland.
Nuss, 6’5”, 285 lbs, was offered a scholarship by Notre Dame earlier this month and committed to the Irish after taking another visit to speak with the coaches and players.
With his size and athleticism he has a lot of potential whether he ends up on offense or defense as he played on both sides of the ball last year and will do so again this year.
Nuss’ coach, Mickey Thompson, recently indicated to the Loudoun County Times that Nuss will most likely see more time on the defensive side of the football this year than he did a year ago. With Nuss playing both offense and defense Thompson said he gave Nuss his breaks on defense, but that with the current depth they have, he will look to give Nuss breaks on offense and let him in on defense all the time.
There is a chance Nuss ends up on defense, but its more likely that he will land on the offensive line, most likely at guard. The same Loudoun Times paper reported that Nuss would like the opportunity to play defense, but that he realizes his home is most likely on offense.
Either way this is the first lineman to commit to the Irish this year (Kerry Neal is most likely headed to defensive end, but for now is still listed a s a linebacker).
Notre Dame had the best offensive line class in the country last year but despite their success need another strong unit due to the extreme lack of depth created by sub par recruiting classes at the end of the Willingham Era.
Defensive line is even more important for the Irish as they have even less depth there and did not do well on the interior defensive line in recruiting a season ago. Because of this, Nuss getting a shot at defensive line makes sense as the Irish will be looking to plug a lot of holes in the line next season.
