Notre Dame picked up its 13th commitment for the class fo 2023 on Thursday night when 4-star running back Jayden Limar selected the Irish over Michigan, Oregon, and Arizona. The Washington native is the first running back in Notre Dame’s class following last week’s decommiment from Sedrick Irvin Jr.
Jayden Limar (5-11, 190 lbs) is a 4-star recruit in both the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus with similar ratings. 247 ranks him as the #254 overall prospect and 15th best running back in the nation. On3 has him at #265 overall and 16th ranked back.
Irish Sports Daily’s Jamie Uyeyama compared Limar to former Notre Dame running Kyren Williams, a 5th-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams last month, and it’s easy to see why. Limar isn’t the biggest back in the world and he isn’t a speed demon, but he has incredible vision and ability to make defenders miss him in the open field.
In 2021, Limar ran for 1,549 yards while rushing for 20 touchdowns. He added another 4 touchdowns receiving and yet another on a kick return.
Notre Dame doesn’t usually pull a lot of talent out of the state of Washington, but Limar’s commitment gives Notre Dame recruits out of the Evergreen State in back-to-back seasons,. Notre Dame signed wide receiver Tobias Merriweather in the class of 2022.
With Limar’s commitment, Notre Dame continues to hold on to the top spot in the 247 team rankings.
Yet Another Head to Head Win Over Michigan
Notre Dame has been eating Michigan’s lunch during this recruiting cycle. Of the 13 commitments that Notre Dame has at the moment, 11 of them held offers from Michigan. The Wolverines, meanwhile, have just six commitments for 2023 with just two of them being 4-star rated. Notre Dame only offered one of Michigan’s six commitments. The Irish are also currently considered the leader for Michigan native, 5-star QB Dante Moore but that recruitment feels far from over with each passing day.
Michigan websites have started to take notice to Notre Dame’s multiple wins over prospects the Wolverines coveted this year as well. Michigan site GBM Wolverine recently wrote:
Jim Harbaugh’s quest to solidify Michigan football as a more consistent Big Ten contender has hit a snag this offseason, namely, the relentless recruiting efforts of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.
Marcus Freeman is a Problem for Michigan Football Recruiting
And that was penned a week ago before Notre Dame added Limar, another prospect that was high on the Wolverine’s recruiting board.
Notre Dame Looking to Add Another RB
The plan has always been for the Irish to add two backs in this class and that remains the plan even with the decommitment of Irvin last week. Notre Dame has recently made some moves with 5-star running back Richard Young who will visit next month. Notre Dame is also currently the leader in the On3 Predictor for Jeremyiah Love though Michigan is a close second based on On3’s algorithm. Both backs will visit Notre Dame in June.
