Will Notre Dame Land Another Elite Running Back?

January 4, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team highlight huddles up during the first half at the Under Armour All-America high school Game at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Notre Dame landed two elite Running Backs in Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston. These are two players who would not normally end up at Notre Dame. But, after a 12-0 season, both players were eager to jump on board.

Alabama’s success in recruiting has been that the rich keep getting richer. They land elite player after elite player. If Notre Dame wants to find themselves in BCS games annually, they better do the same thing.Therefore, can they pull another elite Running Back in this year’s class?

They have solid chances with three Running Backs: Elijah Hood, Nathan Starks and Sony Michel. All of these players are elite prospects with big time offers.

Elijah Hood is a player who was expected to be in the fold for the Irish at this point. But, the trend lately seems to have Hood landing in the south. He will be making another visit to Notre Dame on April 27 with his parents. This would give the staff hope that they have a better chance than they think with Hood.

Hood is rated highest by Rivals.com who has him as the 12th best player in the country and the best athlete prospect in the nation. He is a big, bowling ball type of Running Back that uses his low center of gravity to break tackles and make plays.

Sony Michel is another player that has Notre Dame high on his list. He will visit for the Blue-Gold game this week. Michel is the former teammate of Notre Dame signee Michael Deeb. The connection between those two cannot be understated. The coach is very favorable to Notre Dame. The Irish have a lot of people in their corner.

Deeb is a tremendous player. Rivals.com has Michel ranked as the 2nd best Running Back prospect overall and the #5 player overall. Landing a player of Michel’s caliber would be bigger than the commitment of Greg Bryant last year.

Finally, Notre Dame has an excellent shot with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Running Back Nathan Starks, who visited South Bend this past weekend for the coaches clinic. Bishop Gorman is the High School that Notre Dame Tackle Ronnie Stanley attended. Again, these two are in contact and it could help the Irish.

Starks is ranked slightly lower than Michel and Hood but that should not be a knock on him. His ranking of 26th in the country would put him near Bryant’s ranking last year. Additionally, his offer list includes the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas and USC.

It is hard to fathom that Notre Dame would strike out on three pitches, especially since they have a fairly good shot with all of these prospects. Therefore, it seems very likely that Notre Dame will add another elite Running Back prospect in the 2014 class.