Jaylen Sneed's recruitment wasn't full of drama. The Rivals100 linebacker out of Hilton Head, S.C began his career as a safety and eventually grew into a linebacker, where his speed and athleticism turned him into one of the very best in the nation.
Well over 30 teams extended Sneed scholarship offers but only Notre Dame and Oregon received official visits in June. Sneed did do virtual visits with a long list of teams but none of them got a shot to impress him with an in-person visit. None of that mattered to Sneed, who announced his commitment at a ceremony at his school on Monday evening.
WHAT THE FIGHTING IRISH ARE GETTING
Sneed is a special linebacker prospect built to combat the wide open offenses of today's college and NFL games. He has the toughness to play inside the box, shoot running lanes, and take on massive offensive linemen but what sets Sneed apart is the speed and athleticism he brings to the defense. Sneed has the versatility to blitz off the edge, make tackles in the box, and cover elite tight ends and running backs down the field. Having that combination of skills is rare and Sneed should turn into a multi year start for the Fighting Irish. Physically, Sneed will need to add mass before he is a regular contributor but he is already in good enough shape to handle spot duty.
WHY IT'S BIG FOR NOTRE DAME
Thanks to Sneed's commitment, the Fighting Irish now have the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation. Sneed has an outstanding skill set that's a perfect fit in Notre Dame's system. He'll fill the role vacated by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with ease. Brian Kelly and his staff hit all the right notes with Sneed from the beginning and it really paid off. It has seemed like Sneed has been focused on only Notre Dame for a while. There is a lot to like at Notre Dame's recruiting class, especially their linebacker corps. Sneed is their third linebacker commitment and all three of them are in the Rivals250, making it one of the very best groups in the nation.
