Notre Dame has struggled to find safety depth for a number of years now, arguably through the entire Irish resurgence dating back to 2017. In that time span, they have called upon a needed cornerback to start at safety, pulled an underperforming veteran back from the transfer portal, converted another cornerback and even a receiver.
Finding a handful of actual safeties in the class of 2024 should help avoid that broad desperation in the future, especially with a pair of freshmen on the roster currently. Adding consensus three-star safety Taebron Bennie-Powell (Lakota West High School; Liberty Township, Ohio) to the class on Wednesday afternoon will further that cause.
At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Bennie-Powell is clearly undersized to play linebacker, even at the high school level. Yet, he did last season because his team was so stacked at safety, featuring a pair of consensus four-star prospects in Ben Minich (now at Notre Dame) and Malik Hartford (Ohio State). And Bennie-Powell showed enough between his play at linebacker and his work this summer in recruiting camps to receive offers from Duke, Kentucky and Pittsburgh, along with Charlotte, Miami (OH) and Massachusetts.
I gotta expand on this one. He did what was best for his team junior year "playing out of his position" cuz of 2 dudes at safety. Never complained, owned it. Watched him at his "natural" position this spring and summer and... HE'S THE BEST DUDE OUT THERE AT IT! https://t.co/Jxtz65AATO pic.twitter.com/UQJOjrt8BO
— Tom Bolden (@CoachTomBolden) June 16, 2023
It was a recruiting camp in South Bend this weekend that earned him the Irish offer. Bennie-Powell reportedly ran in the range of a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, proving he has some speed to go along with the physical play he demonstrated at linebacker last year. His upper-body strength was clear there, as was his ability to move calmly through blocks in run defense. Bennie-Powell may not have the size of a typical between-the-tackles defender, but he will never shy from that responsibility at the next level.
His moments of pass coverage last year were assignment sound though also largely untested. Only time will tell how well Bennie-Powell can stick with a receiver downfield, but Notre Dame’s coaches saw enough this weekend to want him to spend that time in South Bend.
This may be a vague assessment, but something in Bennie-Powell’s highlight reel feels untapped. Perhaps it is that most of the clips are simply fine plays; not stellar, yet solid. They are purely good football plays. Someone with his athleticism surely has a higher ceiling, but it was not seen last season.
It may be seen in his sophomore year at Notre Dame. After this season, Xavier Watts, Antonio Carter and Ramon Henderson will each have one year of eligibility remaining. Behind them, Minich and early-enrolled freshman Adon Shuler are the only safeties on the Irish roster.
Bennie-Powell joins consensus three-star safety Kennedy Urlacher (Kennedy H.S.; Az.) as the two safeties in the class for the time being. The 20th commit in the class, Bennie-Powell keeps Notre Dame ranked No. 3 in the country in the class of 2024, behind Georgia with 19 commits and Michigan with 22. The Irish should fall at some point based solely on the quantity of players, given the next three names are Florida with 17 pledges, LSU with 18 and Ohio State with 14.
Enjoying Kyle Hamilton for 2.5 seasons somewhat glossed over Notre Dame’s continued struggles at safety, as did even worse roster management at cornerback until recently.
Consider the top-three safeties every year since 2017:
2017: Nick Coleman, Jalen Elliott, Devin Studstill
2018: Alohi Gilman, Jalen Elliott, Nick Coleman
2019: Alohi Gilman, Jalen Elliott, Kyle Hamilton
2020: Kyle Hamilton, Shaun Crawford, Houston Griffith
2021: Kyle Hamilton, DJ Brown, Houston Griffith
2022: DJ Brown, Xavier Watts, Houston Griffith
Included in those names is an eventual transfer to South Florida (Studstill), a vital transfer from Navy (Gilman), a player who Notre Dame wanted to keep at cornerback (Crawford), an underwhelming veteran pulled back from the transfer portal (Griffith) and a converted receiver (Watts).