Notre Dame Adds Another 4-Star OL to Complete 2020 OL Haul

Notre Dame had itself some kind of recruiting run the last 48 hours.  On Saturday the Irish landed a pair of 4-star linemen – one of each side of the ball – in Blake Fisher (OL) and Gabriel Rubio (DT) for the class of 2021.  With work to do for 2020 still though, Notre Dame added their third 4-star lineman of the weekend with 2020 offensive lineman Michael Carmody to essentially complete their offensive line haul for the year.

Carmody, the brother of current Notre Dame basketball player Robby Carmody, is a composite 4-star player and ranked #134 overall in 247Sports composite rankings.  Checking in at 6’6″, 290 lbs; Notre Dame recruited him as a

Notre Dame was a little late to the party here only offering at the beginning of May.  By that time he already had an offer from in-state, local program Pitt for a year and a half.  Other programs like Ohio State, Texas A&M, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Virginia Tech all offered before Notre Dame as well.

There is a bit of a discrepancy in Carmody’s rankings with 247 ranking him in their top 100 overall while Rivals has him outside of their top 250 and just the #36 rated tackle in the country.  The truth usually lies in somewhere in the middle, but his offer list suggests that 247Sports is probably closer to reality.

Part of the reason for the late offer from the Irish was Notre Dame’s plan to only take a pair of lineman this year.  After locking up Tosh Baker in the spring, Notre Dame turned their attention to Carmody. Since then, Notre Dame and Jeff Quinn turned up the heat and ended up getting Carmody on campus the past two weekends.

It worked.  Notre Dame now has seven commitments on offense for 2020 and all of them are at least 4- stars currently.

Carmody Has Some Serious Athleticism

You always hear about young offensive linemen having great athleticism and how it will translate on the next level.  Instead of just watching Carmody manhandle kids on the prep level – he has done plenty of that too – just take a look at this clip from last fall of Notre Dame’s newest offensive lineman dunking.

https://twitter.com/michaeltcarmody/status/1057065491825655808

Brian Kelly probably doesn’t have to worry about ever losing Carmody to Mike Brey’s program, but his athleticism on the basketball court is part of what makes his potential so enticing on the football field.  It is not normal for 6’6″, 290 lbs kids to be able to dunk like that.  It takes some elite athleticism to be able to do that at that size.  He’s got the quickness and agility to excel on the edge at tackle.

Mike McGlinchey was also an athletic high school lineman from Pennsylvania who excelled on the hardwood as well as the gridiron. That one turned out alright for the Irish and they are hoping that Carmody too can translate all that athleticism into being a lockdown offensive tackle on the collegiate level.

Western Pennsylvania Pipeline Running Strong

Notre Dame has done very well for itself recruiting in Western Pennsylvania over the last few years and Carmody adds to that haul.  The Irish have lured the likes of Phil Jurkovec, Andrew Kristofic, David Adams (now on medical redshirt), Josh Lugg, and Kurt Hinish. from under Pitt and Penn State’s noses all in the last three years.  We could add Robert Hainsey to that list as well since even though he finished his prep career at IMG Academy in Florida, he was born and raised in Western PA where he played his first two years of high school football.

Yet Another Win for Jeff Quinn

Remember when Brian Kelly tapped Jeff Quinn to coach the offensive line and a lot of naysayers called it a “crony hire” and said that Quinn might be able to coach but he’d never be able to recruit at an elite level.  That all seems pretty damn silly right about now doesn’t it?

Since taking over for Harry Hiestand, Quinn has been an absolute monster on the recruiting trail.  He ended up winning over Jarrett Patterson over the final month of the 2018 cycle.  Then he signed an absolutely ridiculous offensive line class during the 2019 cycle.  And now he’s got two consensus 4-star linemen for 2020 along with a pair of 4-star linemen already for 2021.

The man has simply been on a tear ever since being named the offensive line coach at Notre Dame.  Based on the start to Notre Dame’s 2021 offensive line recruiting, there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon.  In fact, next year’s offensive line haul will very likely rival last year’s and could be one of the best at Notre Dame in a long, long time.

It is not hyperbole to state that Jeff Quinn has delivered well beyond anyone outside of the Gug’s wildest expectations on the recruiting trail.  His offensive line also played pretty darn well last season after replacing two 10 picks and losing it’s top player for the season at the end of September.

With Carmody in the fold, Notre Dame has 13 overall commitments for 2020 and is now likely done at all offensive positions with the exception of wide receiver where there is still work to be done.  Notre Dame also still has a lot of work to do in the defensive secondary but momentum there seems to be turning as well.