Notre Dame has picked up a commitment from Los Gatos (Calif.) High School edge defender Will Schweitzer, who had previously been committed to Nebraska.
Schweitzer had offers from Michigan State, TCU, Utah, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Kansas State, Washington State, California, Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Syracuse, Duke, Oregon State and Kansas.
Let's take a look at what the commitment of Schweitzer means for Notre Dame's 2021 recruiting class and the Irish depth chart.
CLASS IMPACT
Schweitzer becomes the 18th commitment for Notre Dame in the 2021 class, and he's the ninth defensive commit in the class. The 6-4, 215-pound edge player joins Jason Onye, David Abiara, Gabriel Rubio and Prince Kollie as front seven commits in the class.
Onye and Abiara are both power players, with Onye projecting as more of a pure strongside edge defender and Abiara showing the ability to play either end position. Should Schweitzer end up being a pure end, he gives Notre Dame a more versatile edge player that serves as an ideal complement to the bigger ends.
This, of course, assumes Abiara even stays in the class. Should he leave, which has been rumored for months, the combination of Schweitzer and Onye would give Notre Dame a more diverse combination than what we've seen from Onye and Abiara.
Schweitzer plays on the edge for Los Gatos, but he also spends time inside and off the ball. While he shows better traits for the edge, Schweitzer also has the athletic traits and instincts to play inside, possibly as a Mike linebacker should his body keep him around 235-245 pounds.
A consensus three-star recruit, Schweitzer doesn't do much for the class from a rankings standpoint, but from a practical standpoint he gives Notre Dame another versatile, athletic and rangy front seven player, and that was needed in this class.
NOTRE DAME FIT
Anyone that has followed me over the years knows that I absolutely love versatile players, and Schweitzer is a versatile athlete. On film he makes plays off the edge, from an inside backer spot, against the run, as a pass rusher and in coverage.
He can do a lot, and in some ways he reminds me of a thicker version of current junior linebacker Jack Lamb, another northern California native.
As an inside linebacker, Schweitzer shows good downhill quickness, he's nimble for a player his size and he makes clean reads. His footwork in coverage is solid and he shows good in-the-box range. He's not someone who is going to dominate running to the sideline, but in the box he can be an effective linebacker.
Where Schweitzer really stands out is as an edge player. He shows an impressive first-step (burst) off the line. Schweitzer gets off the line in a hurry and he quickly eats up the gap between himself and the tackles he faces.
He will need to fill out his frame and add a lot of strength to stick on the edge, but that is where his game is ideally suited. He shows strong hands, and the natural pop is there, but he must fill out, and he looks to have the frame to do that.
Schweitzer's range and experience in coverage makes him a great fit for the Vyper position. He can run with tight ends and backs to the sideline, and he can run with tight ends up the field, something you don't often find with an edge player with his length.
There's a lot of projection to this pick up for Notre Dame, but there's a lot of impressive tools to work with for strength coach Matt Balis and defensive line coach Mike Elston.
I like Schweitzer's frame and athleticism, he's a really smart player and makes a lot of plays. The only question is can he fill out enough to play on the edge and can he continue to enhance his pass rushing moves. If he does, he'll have a chance down the road to be a productive player in the Irish defense.
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Class Impact: DE Will Schweitzer To Notre Dame - Sports Illustrated
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