Signing day is right around the corner, and as mentioned last week, it’s a lot more interesting on the recruiting front for the Irish with all the coaching changes going on over the past month. Saturday there will be several targets and commits participating in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Notre Dame has two commits that’ll be participating. Here’s a preview of some of the targets and commits that you should keep an eye out for on Saturday:
Illinois four-star tight end Cole Kmet committed to Notre Dame way back in October 2015. The 6-5, 230 pound TE chose the Irish over Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and others. Kmet is a Top100 recruit and one of the top tight ends nationally in the 2017 class.
Pennsylvania four-star offensive tackle Joshua Lugg committed to Notre Dame back in August 2015. The 6-7, 290+ pounder picked the Irish over Alabama, Penn State, UCLA, Tennessee and others. Lugg is in the No. 20 nationally for offensive tackles from the 2017 class.
During practice this week, the reaction to Kmet has been solid, as expected. He has looked great with helping set the edge on outside run plays, getting out in space and getting leverage on the linebackers. He’s very powerful and a tremendous route runner.
Lugg has had a good week of practice as well, with great technique, who bends nicely. He has stood up guys all week during their attempt to push towards the quarterback, with a few pancake blocks to go along with it. Both commits have definitely looked the part and they both have proved their rankings. They should have a lot of contribution during the game as well.
Notre Dames targets to keep an eye out for:
Washington five-star offensive tackle Foster Sarell, and probably the best tackle in the nation, will be making a public commitment in San Antonio during the game. Sarell will choose between Notre Dame, Stanford, USC and Washington. What we’ve been hearing for quite awhile is Washington and Stanford are the favorites, with Stanford having the most buzz over the past week. Notre Dame is the darkhorse of those two. The main reason the Irish still have a shot is because of his strong relationship with offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. It would be a big shock though if he ends up grabbing the Notre Dame hat off the table.
Iowa four-star wide receiver Oliver Martin said he plans on committing before National Signing Day. Notre Dame, Michigan State, Iowa and Oregon are the teams to beat at the moment. Most expect him to stay in the Midwest but new offers from Auburn and BYU could change things if late visits to both schools end up happening. As of today though, Notre Dame seems to be the perceived favorite but Iowa and Michigan State and very much in the picture.
California four-star 5’9 180 pound wide receiver Jamire Calvin is all set to announce his commitment this weekend during the Army All-American Bowl. Unless something crazy happens Calvin will commit to either Notre Dame, Nebraska or Washington State. He recently received offers from Texas and Oregon and they both are trying to get in the mix. Nebraska has a ton of momentum going into the announcement but a pick for the Irish wouldn’t be a huge surprise, as his parents have been really pushing for Notre Dame. He also has said he could still take official visits after his commitment, so this one could still go until the very end.
Florida four-star 6’2 250 pound defensive end Jarez Parks is the newest target on the list. Parks is looking at possibly taking an official visit to Notre Dame which was discussed during the Army Bowl practices. Irish commits Cole Kmet and Joshua Lugg have been recruiting him all week and Parks actually said the reason behind the strong interest is because of the two Irish commits which is a nice surprise. Parks plans to major in pre-med and maintains a 4.0 grade point average. Alabama, Florida, USC, LSU, and Auburn are also in the hunt for the top 50 overall player nationally. He would be an absolute huge addition to the much needed depth along the defensive line for the Irish.
Tune in Saturday, January 7 for The Army All-American Bowl. You can watch it on NBC at 1pm EST.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
