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Can't see ND making a serious run at him though unless they rework their entire LB corps. For Davis to fit at ND, they'd have to move White to WILL and Liufau to ROVER. The latter would make sense to me actually because I think he could be a hell of a ROVER with his length. After how well White played at MIKE the last two years though, I don't see them moving him.
Drew White has had a much better college career than either Kelly or Davis. Robertson was good as a freshman at Cal, but Javon McKinley ended up having a much better season as a 5th year player than Robertson did.
Just goes to show that recruiting rankings aren't science and that good coaching staffs identify players like White and get the most out of them. I also think there are some positions that recruiting analysts at 247 and Rivals have little to no ability to evaluate. Linebacker is one of them. They see a kid blowing people up on film and rank them high but can't project how their game translates on the next level. Hell, coaches get it wrong half the time.
Hell, JOK was a 3-star recruiting with mostly offers from programs in the Mid Atlantic and he'll be a 1st round pick. Nyles Morgan was a 5-star on some and didn't get drafted. LB has always been one of those positions. Years and years ago Carlos Pierre Antonie was a 5-star and never played. Then Courtney Watson was a 3-star RB and became an All-American LB.
Happens other places too. Hamilton was a 3-star player before his senior season. Kyren Williams was a 4-star but seen as a consolation prize by many when Notre Dame signed him. Zack Martin was a 3-star before becoming a 1st round pick. Notre Dame absolutely needs to land more 5-star type players because their hit rate is still much higher than 3-stars, but at the same time, this staff has shown it can identify under-recruited talent and develop it.
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Maybe if Ben was aware that there is a very large HS in Indianapolis named Ben Davis, with a very high profile athletic program, he might be swayed to take another look at ND and the great state of Indiana.
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