Staring At The Finish Line

National Signing Day is just a few long days away. Two weeks ago (give or take a few days), the collective regard from Irish fans about this recruiting class was one of doom and gloom. Darby and Decker decommitted, and two of the top commits were rumored to be seriously looking around (Shepard & Greenberry). It was a dark time.

Then, in almost an instant, Notre Dame was gaining a commitment and enrollment of the #1 QB in the country that was all set to head to LSU. withing that same time, Notre Dame got a transfer from Southern Cal in running back Amir Carlisle, they were rumored to be front runners for the Armstead brothers, and the Shepard/Greenberry saga was closing in Notre Dame’s favor. 

It was an exciting time for Irish fans that follow recruiting. There was actual momentum, and it had appeared that Kelly had pulled this class out of the muck and back into the limelight. And then slowly… the class atrted to lose its steam once more.

Notre Dame is staring at a big doughnut for signing day. That’s not a bad thing if your class is full, but it looks as if ND still has at least 3 spots it could fill. Those three spots are HUGE when they needed to be filled by at least one CB and one more WR.

The Armstead ship has sailed. Arik is heading to Oregon. Anthony Standifer is still one credit short to qualify and that looks unlikely to change. Yuri Wright, CB, is headed to Colorado after an obvious “thanks but no thanks” from ND. All hope is lost for Darby, and Nelson Agholor is not going to choose ND. That leaves two names; Brian Poole and Davonte Neal.

Brian Poole is a Florida commit and depending on who you talk to, is either 100% Gator or no less than 55% Gator (whatever that percentage means). At any rate… it still means he is committed to Florida and will probably sign with them on Wednesday.

Neal is a little more intriguing as he is neither committed NOR is he close to being done with the recruiting process. Neal will commit AFTER signing day to whomever he decides. So again- it looks like another year of the doughnut for Notre Dame on signing day. 

There are of course more rumors of a “surprise commit.” I don’t take much stock into message board poster bullshit. Maybe there is- but most likely, I doubt it. Some of the “surprise” talk was centered around CB and UCLA commit, Marcus Rios, and that ship has yet again sailed. 

So, here we are. This is still a good class, but there are still some GIANT holes within it. My point of this post is quite simple… IT’S ALMOST OVER. One of the best things about signing day, is finally ending the cycle of the current class. Ending the bullshit. Of course, we start it all over again with the next class- which sees a lot of the same stuff, but has different names attached to it.

So get ready for two more days of scratching your head, and let it happen. Whether ND adds to this class, or not, is still up for question, but the finish line remains the same.

Editor’s Note: There will be an Open Thread for National Signing Day. Stop by and holla, whenever the mood hits you.