NOTRE DAME 2025 WIDE RECEIVER RECRUITING HAS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
The 2025 recruiting class is nearing the end for Notre Dame, who currently hold 20 commitments in the class. There are several positions, like safety, cornerback and offensive line, that look like tremendous classes. Other spots, such as wide receiver, hold much less optimism.
Heading toward official visit season, we are nearing a very important time for the Irish staff. There are several big time names on the board, but there are a lot of questions that remain. Here’s how the board currently looks, and the potential answers needed down the stretch.
CURRENT WIDE RECEIVER CLASS
Notre Dame currently holds commitments from three different wide receivers in the 2025 recruiting class. That includes Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic wide receiver Elijah Burress, who is the son of former Michigan State and NFL star Plaxico Burress. The New Jersey native is a tremendous route runner, clearly well versed in the finer points of playing the position.
Despite that background, Burress is still a big projection. His play strength is an area of concern right now, and his production isn’t up to the level of his technical refinement. TThere is a hope that his overall athleticism takes a nice step forward as he continues to get more mature and stronger, but only time will tell if so.
The second wide receiver to commit to the program was Ironton (Ohio) High School star Shaun Terry, who was a slight surprise catch for the staff at the time. From a production perspective, Terry is the best of the three. The 5-9, 170-pound athlete makes plays all over the field for Ironton, including as a pass catcher, runner, returner and on defense. Terry did select the Irish over an impressive offer list, including Michigan, USC, Oregon, Tennessee, Penn State, Auburn, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisville, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Illinois and Indiana among others,
Terry has obvious playmaking skills but he projects more as a gadget player than high volume pass catcher. He can play a significant role for an offense but more as a complimentary weapon.
The third but least surprising commitment for Notre Dame was Atlanta (Ga.) Woodward Academy standout Jerome Bettis Jr., whose family is one that Irish fans are very familiar with. As a player, Bettis brings a big and strong frame. He has tremendous hands and is super dependable in contested catch situations. Bettis also plays safety for Woodward Academy, and made a lot of plays for the team as a junior.
In terms of upside, there are some questions just how good Bettis can be. Is there untapped upside that is left there? Can he take a massive jump? Those are the questions that most have right now.
REMAINING TARGETS ON THE BOARD
The name that all Notre Dame fans know is Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman athlete Derek Meadows, who is one of the more high upside talents at the position in the 2025 class. At nearly 6-6 and 200 pounds, Meadows is incredibly long and fast. While he is still a major projection, the potential is easy to see. There is a special upside to work with.
Unfortunately, things are trending away from Notre Dame. They are still fighting hard for him, and have an official visit already scheduled for June, but some of the new SEC offers seem to have a ton of traction right now. Notre Dame has a chance but they need a near flawless end to this recruitment to close.
Another very familiar name is Geneva (Ill.) Community star Talyn Taylor, who is a very, very gifted athlete. Notre Dame is also still pushing for Taylor and he is definitely high on the Irish. The problem is that Taylor might just be a little higher on a couple other schools right now, most notably the Georgia Bulldogs.
One of the new names on the list is Cocoa (Fla.) High School athlete Jayvan Boggs, who might be one of the higher floor pass catchers in the class. Boggs was previously committed to Ohio State but opened his recruitment back up a couple of months ago. The Florida star visited South Bend for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and things went great. It appears Notre Dame is very much in the conversation. Getting him back for an official visit was huge.
While Houston (Texas) Dekaney pass catcher Tanook Hines was offered back in December, he isn’t a player who has been talked about a ton. Then he visited South Bend for the first time a few weeks ago, and all of a sudden it looks like Notre Dame has a real chance. The Irish need more speed in the run, and Hines certainly brings it. Like Boggs, getting Hines back for an official visit would be massive.
Outside of that group of targets, there are a couple players who are on the board but there doesn’t seem to be a ton of buzz. Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh School standout Brandon Finney is one name that has been mentioned, but there doesn’t appear to be a lot of traction here other than some intrigue. The other new name is La Verne (Calif.) Bonita playmaker Dylan Robinson, who is worth keeping an eye on moving forward but it is uncertain where things stand currently.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE
Wide receiver recruiting has been trending upward in recent years but Mike Brown comes in with questions about to what level he can recruit. So far, the 2025 class isn’t answering many of those questions. If it ended with the three wide receivers on the board, quite simply, that isn’t good enough to continue moving the needle.
Also anytime you have an elite talent at quarterback in a class, you have to put talent around him. They have that type of player in Deuce Knight. Great wide receivers want to play with big time quarterbacks. Notre Dame can't squander that opportunity.
Now it isn’t over. There are still very good options on the board, but with a smaller number and time being sensitive, questions will remain questions until proven otherwise. Things have been trending away with both Meadows and Taylor. Can Coach Brown and the staff rekindle that relationship and flip the momentum? Can they close on a couple of the newer names on the board?
It’s closing time.
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2024-05-08T12:19:13Z dg43tfdfdgfd