On3 CFB analyst Clark Brooks breaks down Notre Dame transfer additions

Notre Dame was active in the transfer portal early this offseason, picking up six commitments so far. For a deeper look at the new Fighting Irish, Blue & Gold spoke to On3 college football analyst Clark Brooks — known to many Southeastern Conference fans as the founder and operator of SEC StatCat — who spearheads On3’s efforts to rate every player who enters the portal.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Blue & Gold: Riley Leonard is the No. 6 transfer player, per On3’s rankings. What earned him that ranking and how can Notre Dame make the best out of him?

On3 college football analyst Clark Brooks: [On3 director of scouting and rankings] Charles [Power] loves him more than I do, but the talent is there. He’s definitely an NFL-quality quarterback. One thing that just pops on tape for me is his mobility. He’s like 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5. He’s got a long stride; he’s deceptively fast. He does things with his legs that obviously create opportunities, whether it’s with the good vision or cuts — hard, deliberate cuts — and he can cover ground quickly. And of course, scrambles were a big part of his game, especially when he was hurt last year and he wasn’t necessarily his full passing self.

He did get some scheme help, especially in 2022. So that’s more like screens, pre-determined stuff where he can just go out there and be a point guard. But the lower-body stuff is really what you like to see. There’s not a lot of wasted motion when you’re moving in the pocket. He’s very good at the pocket climb. What does that mean? You’re doing your five-step drop, you might be getting pressure around the edge and you can just climb up in the pocket without missing a beat, keeping your eyes downfield, not dropping your eyes and looking to run as soon as you’re moved off your initial mark. So those things are very nice.

The concerns I have are some with his throwing ability. He throws somewhat of a natural wobbler. That’s not a dealbreaker by any means. Peyton Manning was one of the most prominent wobblers over the last 30 years and he had a very, very nice career, but again, sometimes balls can die downfield because of that throwing style. Not the strongest arm, I would say it would be somewhat below average, at least in 2022, when he was at full strength, compared to some of the other impact quarterbacks.

But I felt at the time he might have been fighting through injury even then, like I have in my notes that his balance was sometimes off. Sometimes his balance on his follow-through is off-kilter, so now I think, “Maybe he has a hurt ankle or lower body,” because some games, that was not the case. It’s very fluid, it’s very non-mechanical, it’s not rigid, it’s very water-like. There’s not a lot of hitches, there’s not a lot of hang-ups. And again, when someone’s too mechanic, too rigid, and like, robotic, that’s when defenses can time up stunts and really throw off someone’s vision. But because he’s so good with his lower body, both mechanically and being able to work outside the pocket, that’s definitely one of the areas that helps elevate his game.

He has a high floor, really good ceiling. He can help elevate an offense because of how he can extend stuff and operate within structure.

B&G: You’re much higher on new Notre Dame wide receiver Kris Mitchell than the consensus. Why do you believe he was one of the top guys in the portal?

CB: Well, first of all, he was one of the more productive Group of Five receivers this year. That’s not Power Five quality, but when you can still do your job in an efficient manner, you will catch my eye.

Yards per route run, basically bar none, it’s the most efficient receiver metric you can have out there. Mitchell’s was 2.63, so that would be top-40 overall, and among guys with 1,000 yards, only a dozen guys have done that. So not only is he doing it with volume, he’s doing it efficiently. He averaged 93 yards per game, 11.2 yards per target. So that is a conversion every time he was targeted on the lower level, with 44 percent of his targets moving the chains. So it’s really operating on that downfield style of play; he’s not just running curls and hitches all day long. His average depth of target last year was 13.6, so a healthy downfield operator, and again, bringing about good efficiency.

If Riley Leonard is going to be that secondary asset, predominantly using more drop-back play action and shot plays, this person can absolutely help you stretch the field and get explosives, and provide balance in terms of operation.

B&G: You have Beaux Collins rated a little lower, down in the 130s overall. What strengths and weaknesses does he bring to Notre Dame?

We kind of joked, he kind of fits Notre Dame’s receiver mold to a tee. You’re 6-foot-3, you’re somewhat of a contested-catch guy where you can work up and down the sideline. Maybe not the fastest of foot, but you’re gonna be able to win your battle in the phone booth. He’s had a consistent career. He’s been hindered by inconsistent quarterback play.

What’s his role going to be in this offense? Is he going to put up a whole lot of eye-popping numbers? I don’t think so. But situationally, he’s definitely going to be someone to watch on later-down situations, on third-down situations, third-and-manageable. And just fit within that scheme. I don’t think he’s gonna necessarily be a lead dog-type of receiver — that’s to say a top-50 wide receiver at the end of next year in terms of production — but that doesn’t mean he’s not a valuable receiver whatsoever.

The one thing I mentioned earlier was the yards per route run with Kris Mitchell. That’s not the case with Beaux Collins, so if he is just going to be like a compiler-type option, you need to pick your battles with him better. That’s why I think he’s a little bit more suited to win better on third downs as opposed to being a feature wide receiver on early downs. … I think he’s just more of a traditional, outside-the-numbers type of guy but at the same time, his physicality, his physical tools definitely give him a leg up compared to other guys on the roster and within the portal at this level.

B&G: Same question regarding new Notre Dame nickel Jordan Clark, whom On3 ranks at No. 108 overall in the transfer portal (up from the consensus’ No. 193).

Coming from Arizona State, I enjoy his profile. He’s a two-year starter. Mellow metrics. What do I mean by mellow metrics? When you are targeted, how efficient are you preventing yards, and when you are in coverage, again, how efficient are you at preventing yards? On a per-target basis, obviously you’re a little bit more under the gun, but you can also limit people being a shadow guy, not drawing targets but also eliminating people that way.

He’s been kind of middle of the road in both. Not spectacular, but his grades are fine. So his assignments are tough. Of course in the Pac-12, while the defenses don’t really carry the banner for that conference, offenses did, especially quarterbacks and pass-catchers. So there were a lot of assignments this year, and he held his own. He had eight passes defended, so it wasn’t like he was a complete traffic cone out there. He was getting some impact plays himself out there. He’s a multi-year starter

B&G: Finally, new Notre Dame edge rusher R.J. Oben. What traits stand out about him?

First thing you want to know about an edge rusher: Can he rush the passer? Well, he’s okay at it. He was a fringe impact edge this year; he was just outside the top-50. He has an 11 percent pressure rate as a three-year starter, so that is definitely checking boxes as a plug-and-play guy. So he’s not just a lug, he’s not just a space-eater and he’s not just an edge-setter. He can make plays. So assuming he takes that natural jump and progression, he easily can be a top-35 edge in college football next year, especially one of the ones in the Power Five.

One thing I would say is a little bit of a concern: If you are just gonna be a pass-rush specialist, like he kind of is — he doesn’t get too many stops or plays around the line of scrimmage. Only 9 defensive stops last year across 400 snaps, so that’s not particularly impressive by any means. So 11 percent pressure rate is fine, but again, you need to see a little more pop in the run game. Fifty-eight run defense grade compared to a pass-rush grade that’s in the mid-70s, where you want it. Definitely something to keep an eye on, but if you’re looking for a pass rusher, an impact edge in that sense, he definitely checks boxes for you, being that multi-year starter from the Power Five.

The post On3 CFB analyst Clark Brooks breaks down Notre Dame transfer additions appeared first on On3.