Irish Invasion Over The Years

For the fourth consecutive summer Notre Dame will open its doors to some of the nation's top high schools recruits for the Irish Invasion. While the invite-only camp which started as an event to rival Urban Meyer's Friday Night Lights at Ohio State is a shell of its former self, the goal has remained the same for the Irish and that's to get top talent on campus.

Notre Dame will do just that on Saturday night with over 80 recruits from around the country expected to be in South Bend, but before we dig into the visitors list which includes names like five-star linebacker Baron Browning, four-star offensive tackle Foster Sarrel and four-star defensive end Hunter Echols, Blue & Gold Illustrated wanted to take a look at the past two Irish Invasions which brought plenty of notable names and a few eventual signees to town.

The Headliners: 5-star RB Elijah Hood, 4-star DE Lorenzo Carter, 4-star WR Corey Holmes, 4-star QB DeShone Kizer, 4-star TE Jake Fruhmorgen, 4-star OC Tristen Hoge and 4-star DT Thomas Holley.

The Recap: The theme of first Irish Invasion had to do with bringing future stars to campus and that's exactly what Notre Dame. The Irish hosted a handful of top targets for the invite-only camp including five-star running back Elijah Hood and Rivals100 linebacker Lorenzo Carter.

While both Hood (North Carolina) and Carter (Georgia) ended up singing elsewhere, they weren't the only priorities for the staff on hand. Notre Dame was able to beat out UCLA and secure a pledge from four-star wide receiver Corey Holmes following the camp and then make a run at four-star center Tristen Hoge, who arrived on campus as an unknown junior but left with an offer in hand after working out for offensive line coach Harry Hiestand.

Notre Dame was also able to evaluate three-star safety Drue Tranquil for the first time and eventually offered him a scholarship after watching him run a 4.52 in the 40-yard dash. Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer was also on the sidelines just a few weeks after giving a verbal pledge to the program.

The Headliners: 5-star RB Jacques Patrick, 4-star QB Malik Henry, 4-star LB Justin Hilliard, 4-star LB Tevon Coney, 4-star OT Jerry Tillery, 4-star DE Austin Bryant and 4-star CB Shaun Crawford.

The Recap: Notre Dame's second run at the Irish Invasion could be considered much of a success. The Irish were able to lure a number of high profile prospects to campus for the one-night event held at the LaBar Practice Complex, and while there where some notable misses down the stretch on guys like five-star running back Jacques Patrick (Florida State) and four-star linebacker Justin Hilliard (Ohio State), the coaches were still able to land signatures from top targets like four-star offensive tackle Jerry Tillery and four-star linebacker Tevon Coney, who both attended the event as uncommitted prospects before eventually picking the Irish.

Tillery, who traveled all the way from Louisiana to work out with offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, is often times tabbed as the prize of the camp given his national ranking and interest from local SEC schools, but one could argue that three-star running back Josh Adams was the real steal of the camp. Adams didn't workout because he was rehabbing from a knee injury, but he was able to get a tour of campus and meet with the Irish coaches for the first time. That eventually led to a commitment from the Pennsylvania running back, who went on to set a new Notre Dame freshman record for rushing yards in a season.

Notre Dame also hosted a number of notable underclassmen that night including five-star linebacker Daelin Hayes and four-star offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg. Both prospects raved about the event in the immediate aftermath and ended up signing with the Irish this past February after long recruiting battles.

The Headliners: 5-star QB Hunter Johnson, 5-star OT Jedrick Wills, 4-star LB Vandarius Cowan, 4-star DE Robert Beal, 4-star TE Brock Wright, 4-star WR Javon McKinnley, 4-star WR Chase Claypool, 4-star OG Matt Bockhorst, 4-star QB Jake Allen, 4-star DB Jalen Elliott, 4-star WR Marquez Callaway, 3-star DB Spencer Perry, 3-star WR Kevin Stepherson and 3-star DB Devin Studstill.

The Recap: If the second version of the Irish Invasion was scored as a success, Irish Invasion 3.0 could marked as a home run for Brian Kelly. Notre Dame was able to not only get prospects from around the country on campus for the event, but the staff was also able to land commitments from a number of the priority targets. Things got started early in the day when four-star safety Jalen Elliott decide to pass on his father's alma mater in Virginia Tech and commit to Kelly in his office. It continued hours later when three-star wide receiver Kevin Stepherson gave a verbal pledge to associate head coach Mike Denbrock at the 50-yard line inside Notre Dame Stadium.

While Elliott and Stepherson are always referenced as the "commitments" from the event, they proved to be just the initial wave for the Irish. Notre Dame was able to eventually flip three-star safety Spencer Perry from Florida in the immediate aftermath of the camp. The coaches were then able to land a pledge from Canadian four-star wide receiver Chase Claypool before eventually securing commitments from four-star wide receiver Javon McKinley and three-star safety Devin Studstill.

It was an impressive job by the staff to lock up a total of six prospects from the one-night showcase, but according to Kelly that's just part of the focus for the event. He said this past National Signing Day that he's also hoping to make the Irish Invasion a 'future stars' camp. Last year's visitors list suggests the Irish are on track to doing just that.

In addition to the 2016 prospects that committed to Notre Dame, the Irish also landed pledges from four-star tight end Brock Wright, four-star tight end Cole Kmet and four-star defensive end Robert Beal, who were all on hand for the event. Beal has since decommitted from the Irish, but the Rivals100 prospect is set to return this weekend for his second Irish Invasion. He'll become one of the first repeat visitors for the annual camp, but likely not the last.