Huge Recruiting Weekend For Notre Dame As Zaire, McGlinchy, Bivin And McGovern Commit

It's only March, but already Notre Dame might have had the best recruiting weekend of the year. With many top prospects visiting campus, Notre Dame expert Jim Miesle expected a commitment or two. Instead, the Irish landed four new recruits.

Offensive tackle Colin McGovern kicked off the weekend festivities when he committed Saturday. McGovern stars for New Lenox (IL.) Lincoln West Way and stands 6'6 and 295 pounds. He is a consensus four-star recruit. I like that McGovern stays with his block, chops his feet and continues to drive his opponent. What I don't see, however, is the elite burst off the ball. Once he gets going, he really moves quite well. It just takes him a bit to get going. At this point, McGovern may be a better prospect than he is as a high school football player. McGovern also had offers from Alabama, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska. Here is some film of McGovern.

One tackle deserves another (although McGovern may end up at Guard), and that is exactly what Notre Dame got on Saturday as Hunter Bivin also committed to the Irish. Bivin is out of Owensboro (KY) Apollo High School. He stands 6'7 and 290 pounds, and is a consensus four-star recruit. Bivin's other offers are Oklahoma, Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Penn State and Michigan. I like that Bivin does not let the pass rusher get into his body. He uses his long arms to keep them at bay. I would like to see him play with better bend, which is difficult to do at a leggy 6'7.

Incredibly, the Irish were not done on the offensive line, as Mike McGlinchy also committed to Notre Dame on Sunday. McGlinchy plays for Philadelphia (Pa.) William Penn Charter. He stands a stunning 6'9 and 275 pounds and is also a consensus four-star recruit. McGlinchy held offers from most of the top schools in the country. He is definitely a developmental prospect and needs to add 30-50 pounds to his frame. But the athleticism and frame are impressive. Notre Dame now has four offensive line recruits and the Irish are likely done at the position.

And all that protection couldn't have hurt the Irish's chances with quarterback recruit Malik Zaire, who also committed to Notre Dame Sunday, becoming the seventh commitment of the year and the fourth of the weekend. Zaire held offers from Ohio State, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Zaire stars for Kettering (OH) Archbishop Alter and is another four-star recruit.

Zaire is a running quarterback who has a strong, though unrefined arm. He will need to redshirt, but that shouldn't be a problem, as Notre Dame will have three or four scholarship quarterbacks ahead of him when he arrives in August.

Notre Dame's quarterback recruiting is particularly interesting. Two years ago, the Irish landed Everett Gholston, a running quarterback. Last cycle, they landed Gunner Kiel, a pocket passer. Now they appear to be back after another running quarterback. Brian Kelly will certainly have many different choices at the position.

Who is left for the Irish? One Foot Down breaks it down with a newly updated Big Board for April. Tons of top prospects remain for Notre Dame. As for how many Notre Dame will take, OFDhas you covered there too, and the maximum number appears to be 24.

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For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame blog One Foot Down, plus SB Nation Indiana.