When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish added quarterback Ron Powlus III to its 2021 recruiting class on National Signing Day, it took a minute to digest. This wasn’t a preferred walk-on situation — this was an actual scholarship signing for the 72nd ranked pro-style quarterback in the country. This, of course, was in addition to signing the 70th ranked overall player — quarterback Tyler Buchner.
While it caught many fans and media members off guard, the reasoning for adding Powlus to the 2021 class is sound from a roster standpoint in 2021 and beyond. There are concerns about Brendon Clark’s ability to recover from knee surgery, which meant only Drew Pyne and freshman Buchner were going to be on the roster before they finally added transfer Jack Coan.