Notre Dame football received its first post-2019 Signing Day commitment for the 2020 class today, as four-star defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina has decided to verbally commit to the Fighting Irish. The 6’3″/300 pounder out of Denver, CO is the 5th commit overall for Notre Dame’s class of 2020, and the 2nd on the defensive side of the ball.

Aidan received his offer from Notre Dame back in May of last year, and has visited campus twice already since then. This was a move that had been expected for a while now, but he just recently announced that he would be making his decision public today on his birthday.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports — 3 star (88 rating), #368 overall, #31 DT, #5 in CO

Rivals — 4 star (5.8 rating), NR overall, #17 DT, #2 in CO

ESPN — 3 star (79 rating), #265 overall, #26 DT, #2 in CO

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.8986), #310 overall, #28 DT, #4 in CO

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (90 rating)

Cohort

Aidan chose the Irish over other offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC, Oregon, Florida, UCLA, Wisconsin, and others. Ohio State was reportedly the biggest competition in this recruitment.

Highlights

Aidan’s highlights show a guy with a high motor and a lot of power behind that motor. He does a great job of eating up space at the line of scrimmage. He plays with good leverage and consistently fights his way through double teams on tape. And in a few clips where he’s lined up more as a 3-4 DE, he shows decent pass-rushing ability for a guy that will likely end up at nose tackle at the next level.

Impact

Aidan adds immediate depth for the Irish at the nose tackle position. The Irish have done pretty well for themselves recruiting along the defensive line over the past few cycles, and The Big Kahuna continues that trend. He already possesses the size to see the field in his freshman year, he just has to work on things like explosiveness and continuing to build power. The staff will likely use the new redshirt rules to get him on the field some in 2020. With Kurt Hinish graduating after that season, I’d expect Aidan to be a regular in the rotation at nose tackle in 2021.

 

Welcome to the Irish family, Aidan!