Notre Dame’s Five Most Wanted Recruits Heading Into National Signing Day
National Signing Day is less than two weeks away (Feb. 3), and Notre Dame is expected to add two or three more recruits to the class before things are finalized.
Blue & Gold Illustrated takes a look at the latest with the Irish’s five most wanted recruits.
5-star ATH Demetris Robertson
The Competition: Alabama, Stanford, Georgia, Georgia Tech and California.
The Skinny: Robertson’s recruitment — to put it simply — hasn’t been normal. The five-star athlete gave an early commitment to Alabama, but backed away from that pledge because he wanted to evaluate all of his options. He took an official visit to Notre Dame in September, and then was at California in October for another visit. Robertson (Rival.com’s No. 1 athlete, No. 8 overall prospect and No. 1 recruit in Georgia) has since canceled a trip to Ohio State, and rescheduled an official to Alabama. He’s expected to finally make it to Tuscaloosa this weekend, but plans still haven’t been finalized, and things continue to trend in the right direction for the Irish ($), especially after Brian Kelly’s in-home visit in on Monday ($).
Decision Date: National Signing Day.
5-star LB Caleb Kelly
The Competition: Oklahoma and Oregon.
The Skinny: Fresno, Calif., hasn’t been kind to Notre Dame over the years, but Kelly (Rivals.com’s No. 4 outside linebacker, No. 14 overall prospect and No. 2 recruit in California) said at the The Opening back in July, the area isn’t some “blackhole” for the Irish ($). Whether or not that proves to be true remains to be seen, but the five-star prospect trimmed his list of schools to Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Oregon earlier this month, and hinted that it’s a two-team race between the Irish and Sooners. Notre Dame sent two coaches to meet with the family on Tuesday, and that has Oklahoma concerned about where things are headed ($).
Decision Date: National Signing Day at 8:30 p.m. ET.
5-star LB Ben Davis
The Competition: Alabama, Georgia, Auburn and LSU.
The Skinny: Notre Dame hosted the nation’s top linebacker for an official visit this past weekend and, according to him, the trip exceeded his expectations ($). Davis (Rivals.com’s No. 1 inside linebacker, No. 5 overall prospect and No. 1 recruit in Alabama) said he left South Bend with the Irish in his top three, and while that’s promising, it should be noted that his father — Wayne Davis — is Alabama’s all-time leading tackler and the family will take an official visit to Tuscaloosa this weekend. Still, while Davis might be the biggest long shot on the list, his father had some promising comments about Notre Dame after the official ($).
Decision Date: National Signing Day.
4-star LB Jeffrey McCulloch
The Competition: Texas, Texas A&M and Stanford.
The Skinny: For a while it appeared that Notre Dame was the team to beat for the Houston Aldine Davis linebacker, then the four-star prospect decided to push back his decision date back because of the “quarterback situations” at both Texas and Texas A&M ($). That wasn’t a positive for the Irish, but Notre Dame continues to court McCulloch (Rivals.com’s No. 169 overall prospect and No. 23 prospect in Texas) and had two assistant coaches meet with him on Wednesday. Still, while that shows the Irish are alive, McCulloch canceled a planned trip to Alabama this weekend to instead see Texas A&M. It’s looking more and more like he won’t leave the state for school.
Decision Date: National Signing Day on ESPNU.
3-star LB Jonathan Jones
The Competition: Michigan and Duke.
The Skinny: Jones might not have the most stars next to his name, but he’s a linebacker the the Irish want in South Bend, and one that continues to put Notre Dame at the top of his list. Jones (Rivals.com’s No. 19 inside linebacker) said earlier this week that his father is already sold Notre Dame ($), and that has the Irish trending up. But just because one person in his camp likes Notre Dame doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. Jones will take an official visit to Duke this weekend then host Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh for an in-home visit on Sunday.
Decision Date: National Signing Day.