Notre Dame football: Can Irish land seven 5-star prospects?

At this moment, Notre Dame football has no 5-stars locked down for the class of 2024; that can change quickly as the staff comes together. First and foremost, the Irish already have two commits that are borderline 5-star recruits. CJ Carr and Cam Williams are undoubtedly worthy of 5-stars, but time will tell where they end up.

We all know the CJ Carr debacle with On3, a site losing credibility faster than any recruiting site. That said, he can still be considered a composite 5-star with 247Sports and others’ rankings. He’s certainly not doing anything wrong; on the 7-on-7 circuit, Carr is making some ridiculous throws, leading an extraordinarily talented and dominant squad.

If you’re keeping score at home, that’s two potential 5-stars the Irish could have already committed. According to 247Sports’ “Notre Dame 2024 Football Prospects” target list, the Irish are targeting current 5-stars Sammy Brown, Justin Scott, Elijah Rushing, Ryan Wingo, and Justin Williams.

Those close to 5-star status the Notre Dame football program currently targets include Brandon Baker, Guerby Lambert, and Ian Moore. Moore is committed to Ohio State as the Irish offered him recently, and Lambert has been predicted to the Irish by Tom Loy. However, Loy predicted before the Harry Hiestand departure, so time will tell how confident he remains.

Of those listed names that are or could be potential 5-stars, the Irish have a realistic chance with right now, include Justin Scott, Elijah Rushing, Ryan Wingo, Guerby Lambert, and Brandon Baker. In a perfect Notre Dame football world, which we know doesn’t exist, the Irish would land 7 5-star prospects this cycle.

However, that is highly unrealistic; frankly, they may land none. That said, the staff isn’t shying away from taking big swings even after the debacles in last year’s cycle. To be clear, 5-stars aren’t everything, but they certainly have the potential to be excellent in college. Still, we’ve seen time and time again how many players boom from the 4-star ranks and lower.

I genuinely love the class the Notre Dame football program and staff have currently put together, including those not listed above. Although each has the potential to be great at the collegiate level, only time and work ethic will tell.