After de-committing from Boston College earlier this year, Catholic Memorial defensive end Boubacar Traore announced his verbal commitment to Notre Dame. The Irish currently have the No. 1 class in the country for the class of 2023’s 247 composite rankings.

That may seem like a mouthful, but basically it means that the Fighting Irish are putting together the best class in the nation, and Traore is now a part of that equation.

Traore is one heck of a prospect. In the 247 rankings — not the composite — he is the No. 88 recruit in the country. In the composite, he checks in at No. 153, which is still excellent and puts him in the elite category.

And elite is how you would describe Preston ZInter, an outside linebacker/tight end from Central Catholic who is also a part of this Notre Dame class.

So you have a program in Notre Dame that is recruiting as well as anyone, and a big part of the Irish’s success is their ability to get these players from Massachusetts.

That’s pretty cool.

Traore missed a lot of time in the 2021 season to injury. But when he is on the field, Traore is a dominant force off the edge. Right now, Traore is about 6-foot-5, 255 pounds. He is well-built, and quite athletic, especially for someone his size.

When we saw him play at close to full health, he was a tremendous pass rusher, and can hold up in the run game, too.

Earlier in his recruitment, Traore gave his verbal commitment to Boston College, along with teammates Datrell Jones and Jaedn Skeete. But Traore had done that without fully experiencing the process.

So Traore backed off that commitment this year, and as it turns out, had the Irish on his mind.

Traore is part of a super-talented Catholic Memorial squad that — by our count — has close to a dozen FBS-offered athletes. That number could continue to go up, with the likes of Traore leading the way.