Notre Dame Football: 2019 Recruiting Update

The 2019 Notre Dame football recruiting class has been nearly full for quite some time, but there are still a few big names to keep track of.

The early signing period is right around the corner (December 19-21st) and much like last season, Notre Dame football expects all its current commits to sign during that time frame. This was definitely an interesting recruiting class for the Irish.

First, it was the first time college teams were allowed to host prospects for official visits during the Spring — something Notre Dame took full advantage of.

Second, it is only the second season allowing recruits to sign early — also something Notre Dame took full advantage of during the first go-around.

Lastly, this was a smaller class that has been virtually locked up for quite some time — giving the Irish coaching staff a nice head start on 2020.

Notre Dame currently has 21 commits in the class, and 22 if you include preferred walk-on kicker, Harrison Leonard — one of the top kickers in the class. It’s a well-rounded bunch featuring 12 defensive commits, eight offensive commits and one specialist.

Breaking it down further, there is one QB (Brendan Clark), one RB (Kyren Williams), two WRs (Cam Hart, Kendall Abdur-Rahman), four OL (Zeke Correll, Quinn Carroll, Andrew Kristofic, John Olmstead), four DL (NaNa Osafo-Mensah, Jacob Lacey, Hunter Spears, Howard Cross III), four LBs (Osita Ekwonu, Marist Liufau, J.D. Bertrand, Jack Kiser), four DBs (Kyle Hamilton, Litchfield Ajavon, K.J. Wallace, Isaiah Rutherford) and one P (Jay Bramblett).

Once again, Notre Dame not only has an extremely talented class, but a class that spans the entire country. According to 247sports.com’s composite rankings, the Irish have reeled in 15 four-star recruits and 6 three-star recruits. They also represent 16 different states out of the 21 current commits — something most schools simply do not even attempt to do.

*Editor’s Note* Kyle Hamilton is a 5-star on the the normal 247sports rankings and listing a specialist in the 3-stars when considering he’s ranked as the best in the country is kind of lame.

Regardless, it is a class that ranks 10th in the country as of today.

With all of that said, there are still few recruits to monitor as we spearhead toward the finish line of 2019 recruiting.

Here is the latest…

As mentioned, Notre Dame is close to done with their class and only have 1-2 spots left.

Presumably, those are spots are being held for DE Isaiah Foskey and LB Asa Turner. If the Irish hit any snags, it is possible they will stay steady at 21 and call it a class. However, a few other recruits are worth mentioning. With the recent news of Urban Meyer stepping down at Ohio State, one guy to keep in mind is RB/LB Steele Chambers. 

Isaiah Foskey

It has long been suggested that Foskey is a heavy Irish lean out of Califorina powerhouse De La Salle High School. Early on in this recruitment, Notre Dame was sort of an afterthought for the four-star defensive end, but the Irish stayed aggressive in their pursuit. He holds offers from many premier programs, but has settled on a top group of Cal, Michigan, Ohio State and Washington to go along with Notre Dame. Some schools are recruiting him on defense, others at tight end.

Following up a 10-3 season with an undefeated regular season and playoff birth certainly helps Notre Dame’s chances, but the Irish were (presumably) able to win him over a few months back. Foskey is expected to announce his college choice to the public on January 3rd at the Under Armour All-America game. It will be interesting to see if he signs early and keeps his announcement under the vest.

Asa Turner

Turner, also from California, committed to Washington back in July, and Notre Dame respectfully was second in the race at the time. However, the staff continues to view him as priority target and are hoping for an eventual flip. He has yet to waver in his status with the Huskies, but has reciprocated the interest in Notre Dame as he made his way down to watch the Notre Dame-Navy game in San Diego earlier this season.

This is certainly an interesting recruitment to follow over the next couple weeks. If he doesn’t sign with Washington this month, Notre Dame has to be seen as a serious threat to change his mind. One key factor: Washington has promised a chance at safety, while Notre Dame sees him at LB.

Steele Chambers

There isn’t much to report on this front as of now. Notre Dame offered Steele Chambers a while back, and at one point looked like a potential suitor. He is high school teammates with current Notre Dame commit, J.D. Bertrand, out of Blessed Trinity Catholic in Georgia. The academic and religious ties are there, and Notre Dame would likely find room for him if he wanted to jump on board.

Stay tuned to slapthesign.com over the course of the next few weeks. We will we be bringing updates as players sign early.