Notre Dame vs Miami Recruiting Comparison

Notre Dame has eight four-stars, two three-stars and one unranked player in their projected starting lineup for Sunday. Miami has one five-star, five four-stars, four three-stars and one unranked player in their projected starting lineup.

On paper, this is a relatively even matchup; each team has eight players who were ranked as Top 300 recruiting coming out of high school per On3. Notre Dame's highest ranked recruit in their projected starting lineup is right guard Guerby Lambert who was graded as the No. 42 player in the country by On3. Miami's highest ranked player is defensive tackle Justin Scott who On3 ranked as a five-star and the No. 11 player in the country coming out of high school.

Miami has the lone five-star recruit in their starting lineup while Notre Dame has more four-star players. Each team has an unranked player in their starting lineup as well. For the Irish, it's wide receiver Jordan Faison who was unranked coming out of high school as a lacrosse recruit. Since then, he's racked up 49 career receptions, 678 yards, averaged 13.8 yards per catch and has hauled in five touchdowns.

Miami's lone unranked player is safety Jakobe Thomas who started his career at Middle Tennessee State but spent the 2024 season with the Tennessee Volunteers. Thomas has 130 career total tackles, four interceptions and 10 passes defended in his career, but he hasn't recorded an interception since 2022 at Middle Tennessee.

Notre Dame Defense vs Miami Offense

Notre Dame has seven four-stars and four-three stars in their projected starting lineup for Sunday's matchup. Miami has one five-star, six four-stars and four three-stars in their projected starting lineup.

Similar to the offensive side of the ball, this matchup, on paper, is relatively even. Both teams have seven players that were graded as Top 300 caliber recruits coming out of high school by On3. Miami, once again, has the lone five-star of the bunch in right tackle Francis Mauigoa but Notre Dame has more four-stars across the board in their starting lineup.

Cornerback Leonard Moore for Notre Dame might be the most shocking former three-star recruit in the country. The 6-2, 195-pound Texas native finished last season on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team and was the FWAA Defensive Freshman of the Year. He's since been coined as the No. 1 returning cornerback in the country. The Irish also have several other four-star players in their projected starting lineup who are poised for a big season including linebacker Drayk Bowen, defensive ends Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore and defensive backs Christian Gray and Adon Shuler.

Miami was tasked with replacing quarterback Cam Ward who was taken No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. They went to the portal and picked up former four-star quarterback Carson Beck from Georgia. He'll be joined in the starting lineup by former four-star recruits running back Mark Fletcher, wide receiver Joshisa Trader, tight end Elija Lofton and TCU transfer James Brockermeyer at center. Similar to Moore for the Irish, former three-star right guard Anez Cooper has also played above his initial high school recruiting ranking.

CLASS RANKINGS

Here are the class rankings of the two programs from the last five seasons. (247 Composite Ranking)

Notre Dame

2025 - 12
2024 - 9
2023 - 12
2022 - 7
2021 - 9

Miami

2025 - 14
2024 - 4
2023 - 7
2022 - 16
2021 - 11

Advantage: Notre Dame

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