Notre Dame landed its second 2020 commitment yesterday when blue-chip tight end Kevin Bauman announced for the Irish. The 6’5″, 230-pound New Jerseyan made his first visit to campus just 10 days ago; that first visit made such a big impression that he committed 20 months before his signing day. He has been very familiar with Notre Dame for some time, though, since he goes to Quenton Nelson’s high school and his family knows the Nelsons well. Big Q just keeps paying dividends.

In 2017, the Irish landed Brock Wright and Cole Kmet. In 2018, it was George Takacs and Tommy Tremble. The staff is being highly selective with 2019 prospects; Bauman’s commitment and what most assume is a big lead for fellow 2020 4-star TE Michael Mayer affords them that opportunity. Whether they take one in 2019 or not, they have stocked the pipeline at Tight End U admirably.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Sports — 4 star (91 rating), #142 overall, #2 TE, #4 in NJ

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating)

ESPN — Not evaluated

Rivals hasn’t formally ranked 2020 prospects yet, but that 5.9 rating should translate to a rank of around 100-150. ESPN hasn’t ranked or evaluated underclassmen yet. The 247 Composite hasn’t been calculated for 2020 prospects since the other two services don’t have rankings.

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Kevin Bauman holds offers from Boston College, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Vandy, and West Virginia, among others. Pretty solid list for a junior tight end.

Highlights

Kevin Bauman is a seriously big dude. That’s what jumped out at me right away; you never know how accurate listed dimensions are, but he definitely looks true to his. He shows very soft hands, catching smoothly and effortlessly away from his body. He’s a space eater as a receiver, just has a sense of where to settle down and where to turn to give his quarterback a good target. He’s not going to run past the secondary but he moves well enough vertically that you need to be aware of him. His blocking technique is, uh, sloppy, but the good news there is that he’s very physical. I can easily picture him filling out to 260-ish and being a dominant blocker if he wants to be. He has all the hallmarks of a classic combo tight end.

Impact

Bauman will almost certainly not be needed in a significant role as a true freshman, assuming all goes to plan ahead of him; Wright and Kmet will be seniors, and Tremble and Takacs will be juniors. He’ll have plenty of time to build up physically and mentally before joining the rotation as a sophomore. I think he’ll be ready when called upon, and has the potential to be a quality starter when his time comes.

Welcome to the Irish family, Kevin!