Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle

Listed measurements: 6-foot-4, 287 pounds 2023-24 year, eligibility: An early-enrolled freshman, Houstan has all four years of eligibility remaining. Depth Chart: There should be seven players ahead of Houstan at the two defensive tackle positions, and with the transfer window closed, all seven should remain ahead of him when preseason practices start. For that matter, junior Jason Onye and sophomore Tyson Ford looked like rotation contributors during the Blue-Gold Game, suggesting Houstan’s chances of jumping them into the rotation are even slimmer than expected. Recruiting: A consensus four-star recruit and the No. 22 defensive tackle in the class, per rivals.com, Houstan spurned offers from South Carolina, Penn State and Mike Elston and Michigan when he chose the Irish. Houstan’s brother, Caleb, played on the Wolverines basketball team in 2021-22 before declaring for the NBA draft (where he was selected No. 32 overall).

That connection — and his early-recruiting relationship with Elston, the former Notre Dame defensive line coach — was not enough to sway Houstan from a commitment made 52 weeks ago and thus seven full months before he could sign his National Letter of Intent. When he made that initial commitment, Houstan was the 12th in an Irish class that had only four- and five-stars.

“I wouldn’t say the recruiting class was a big part of my decision but it definitely factored in,” Houstan said to rivals.com . “I looked at it as, ‘All these amazing players want to be there, why do they want to be there?’ I broke it down and dissected it and understood that you can get the best of both worlds at Notre Dame.

“In terms of the players there, I want to be in a room where I’m going to be pushed 24 hours a