Notre Dame Football: Defensive End Kofi Wardlow Signs With The Irish

The Fighting Irish Added An Intriguing Defensive End To Their Class.

Notre Dame has had worries regarding the defensive end position for some time now. Brian Kelly landed 4 defensive ends last cycle to get the depth where it needs to be.

The depth got even stronger today.

Weak-side defensive end Kofi Wardlow of D.C. gave his pledge to the Irish today instead of sticking with his commitment to Maryland.

Wardlow received a late offer from Notre Dame in January followed by in-home and in-school visits by staff. Wardlow then visited the Notre Dame campus for an official visit two weekends ago. Last weekend, he spent his final visit with Virginia Tech.

Although speculation went back and forth as to who Wardlow would end up signing with, the allure of Notre Dame was high enough for him to sign his letter of intent to UND.

At 6’3, 230 pounds and a chiseled physique with long arms, Wardlow is put together very well for the weak-side defensive end position. He will need to continue to add muscle and strength in the newly revamped strength and conditioning program.

Click here to watch Kofi Wardlow’s Hudl highlight film

There’s a lot to like and many signs of potential in Wardlow’s film. He shows some effective pass rush moves, quick-twitch athleticism, strong hands and the ability to hold the edge.

An area for improvement would be that he needs to play fast consistently. He tends to slow up at times to get a read on the play. He’s very talented but in some areas, quite raw.

A lot of his core defensive end tools need to be refined. Being a good student and high-character kid, he should be very coach-able.

A redshirt year for Wardlow is likely. If he puts on 10-20 pounds of good weight and learns to play with more urgency consistently, he could be a very dangerous pass rusher. The signs are there.

Wardlow gives the Irish a great blend of defensive ends in this class. Jonathan MacCollister projects as either SDE or WDE, Tagovailoa-Amosa projects as a SDE or 3-technique and Kofi Wardlow projects as a WDE.

With two defensive tackles having signed their National Letters Of Intent, the defensive line class is well rounded and should provide a worry-free situation, depth wise, for Mike Elko.

Barring any surprises, Wardlow should be Notre Dame’s final commitment of this class.

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