Notre Dame picked up one of the more significant commitments for the class of 2022 cycle earlier this week when Steve Angeli, a 4-star recruit on Rivals, selected the Irish over an impressive list of other programs that also offered the New Jersey signal-caller. While there’s been some predictable fan angst over the fact that Angeli is only a composite 3-star recruit on 247 at the moment, he is THE quarterback the Notre Dame staff wanted. They got the guy that they wanted, and that should not be overlooked.
There’s been some criticism from fans and some analysts for how Notre Dame handled its quarterback recruiting regarding some late offers to top-100 recruits like Ty Simpson and Drew Allar. Still, Steve Angeli was the very first quarterback that Notre Dame offered for the class of 2022 back in August. From that point on, it was pretty clear that Angeli was their number one priority at the position.
Over the last two months, Notre Dame did expand its quarterback board a bit with the Simpson and Allar offers, but it still felt like Angeli was the guy they wanted. And they got him. Notre Dame fans should be excited.
Steve Angeli isn’t some low 3-star flier that Notre Dame is taking a big chance on. Ohio State offered him. So did LSU. So did Penn State, Michigan, and Stanford. That’s an impressive offer list with offers from programs that also know a few things about quarterbacks.
Part of the issue behind Angeli’s rankings is related to the offense that he plays in. Bergen Catholic, one of the best programs in the state of New Jersey, ran the ball more than 65% of the time in their COVID-shortened 2020 season. So Angeli’s stats look pretty pedestrian. He threw for 919 yards and 6 touchdowns with 3 interceptions in six games. Notre Dame offered Angeli before his junior season, though, because they saw enough in him to know he was a quarterback they wanted.
At 6’3”, 215 lbs, with plenty of arm talent, Angeli has all the tools to be a great college quarterback. He’s by no means a finished product, making his projection difficult for fans or recruiting analysts who look at some film and want to make definitive statements about how he will develop or how Notre Dame wasn’t wise to push for his commitment. This is a case where I’ll trust the Notre Dame coaching staff’s evaluation and projection over any analysts’.
The Notre Dame coachings staff saw enough in Angeli to offer early and enough to project him to be the kind of player who can lead the Irish offense in the future. Because he is raw, he might not be the kind of player who challenges for a starting role on day one, but the depth Notre Dame has at quarterback should hopefully make for that to be unnecessary anyway. Angeli will have time to develop at Notre Dame and will get a head start on that by enrolling early in January 2022.
We’ve seen Notre Dame take some fliers on quarterbacks before, but it’s usually been after they lost out on the quarterbacks from the top of their board and were left scrambling. That is not what happened here by any means. Angeli was the first quarterback they offered for the class. He is a player that the staff very much wanted to be the guy for their 2022 class.
And for those obsessed with star ratings and rankings. Angeli is currently ranked #375 overall in the country on 247Sports. Joe Burrow was #280 overall in 2015, and Mac Jones was #399 overall and the #17 pro-style quarterback. Angeli just so happens to also be the #17 pro-style quarterback at the moment. You may recall that Burrow and Jones both took time to crack the starting lineup, but they turned out to be alright. Angeli’s rankings are subject to change as well – and they likely will with a strong senior season.
The bottom line here is that Notre Dame landed the quarterback that they wanted – maybe not the one that some fans or analysts thought they should. Fans are fans, and analysts are analysts, though, because they aren’t coaches. Tommy Rees and Brian Kelly targetted Steve Angeli very early on, and they got their guy.
How long has Kelly been at Notre Dame now? 12 years? Not a single one of his quarterbacks on an nfl roster heading into 2021. Until Notre Dame starts recruiting and developing quarterbacks that can play at the next level they will never win a national championship. You must have an elite qb to win big games in todays college football. Maybe you can get away with it at Alabama because of there elite talent across the board but certainly not at Notre Dame.
..really makes you wonder how far Bearcat Zach Collaros might have gone had he benefited from some solid coaching in college.
Kelly ended up getting a much more lucrative career out of that kid’s talent than he did.
Lots of suckers on this site drinking the Kelly Koolaid
Your going tell us out of all those QB”s. That a guy who has 1.000 yards 6 TD”s an 3 INT”s. Is the one guy ND wanted out of all of them. Now im not saying he won’t work out an be a good player. But don’t try to tell us the sky is red an expect us to believe it.
Marge: “Well, you know what we say: the right house for the right person!”
Lionel Hutz: “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Marge. The right house is the house that’s for sale. And the right person is anyone.”
ND targeted a 3-star QB…and is spinning it as a huge triumph.
Meanwhile, Saban and Swinney are trying keep benches full of 5-star championship level talent happy sitting.
Sounds like a lot of defensiveness and apologies were made in this article. Plus not much analysis on his actual skill set. This did t tell me much other than to just accept whatever decisions the coaches make.
Imo he will only be as good as the talent around him along with the coach ing and development . His school is playing my high school game 2 next year. My school has won 5 state championships the last 6 years.I will go to this game if they let fans go to the games. I will post on here after that game and give you my thoughts on Angelic.
Frank: have you watched much film on Angeli? Do you see a lot of accuracy, arm talent, or mobility in him? I don’t. At all. Wimsatt and Allar jump off the film compared to him. This is a lazy comfortable take from an offensive staff that is really starting to suffer in comparison to the recruiting done by the defense. There is no way ND should be taking a commit from Angeli now. None. Two playoff berths in three years means you recruit hard and swing for much, much more than a recruit of this caliber. This years class at QB is deep too. What is the rush?? Missouri commit Sam Horn has more tools than Angeli objectively. Kelly and ND can spin this a good news but it is not.
Peter
Thanks for the offer, and I welcome your analysis, but unfortunately how he performs next year while still in high school won’t tell us much. In three years or so, we’ll know whether the judgment of Kelly (and maybe Rees) on this QB recruit was the right one or not. Until then, we can all praise or dismiss the decision. ND certainly got more out of Book and Kizer than was first expected, but a lot less out of Wimbush, Golson, Hendrix, and even Zaire and Crist, although who knows to what extent injuries derailed their progress and development. Here’s hoping young Angeli continues to develop and someday delivers on the high expectations of the staff. If Buchner is what many see him to be, our verdict on Angeli will have to wait.
Very true Michael. A lot of times they all look great in high school. There have been many 5 star qbs that never panned out such as Ron Powlus, Dayne Christ etc. Baker Mayfield was a 3 star and won the heisman trophy. You just never know 100% on any high school player how he will project to college. It depends on many factors. Ohio State,Alabama ,Clemson do recruit more 5 stars than Notredame but they also recruit a good portion of 3 and 4 stars that they coach up, develop and utilize that play like 5 stars. Mac Jones is a perfect example .He was a 3 star. But look at the great talent around him.Najee Harris, Devonte Smith ,Jaylon Waddle ,Beachem a great oline and a great coordinator Sarkinsion.
But did they get the quarterback they WANTED? it isn’t clear from the article.