Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING pect nationally –– is part of an early haul for the Irish that has many in the recruiting industry thinking that Kelly's next recruiting class has the po- tential to be his best yet in South Bend. "It's one of the better starts," Rivals national recruiting director Mike Far- rell said. "The process has accelerated greatly, which is more of a challenge for academic programs like Notre Dame. To be off to such a quick start for the Irish in 2017 is impressive." In addition to Beal, the Irish have already locked up commitments from Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair four-star tight end Brock Wright, Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny four-star offensive tackle Joshua Lugg, Arlington Heights (Ill.) St. Viator four-star tight end Cole Kmet and Clearwater (Fla.) Central Catholic three-star offensive guard Dillan Gibbons. It's a complete 180 from where the Irish were a year ago when the staff entered March with just one verbal commitment for the class of 2016. "I feel like Notre Dame is doing a good job of finding Notre Dame kids and guys that want to be there," said Lugg –– Rivals' No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania, and No. 10 offensive tackle and No. 73 overall prospect in the country –– after a Junior Day Jan. 23 when asked how the Irish have been able to lure top talents like him- self to Notre Dame. Gibbons, who is the No. 53 prospect in Florida according to Rivals, agreed. "Notre Dame recruits itself," Gib- bons said. "It fits a certain cookie-cut- ter type of kid, and all of the commits are that kid right now." But while the Irish might be off to an impressive start on the recruiting trail, the coaching staff will have to close with some key targets down the stretch if the class will truly be elite on National Signing Day in 2017. Here's a position-by-position out- look with projected needs and a few targets at each position. QUARTERBACK 2016 Quarterbacks On Roster: 5 Projected Take: 1 Kelly and his staff have made it clear that the plan is to take a quarterback every recruiting cycle, and 2017 fig- ures to be no different. The Irish tar- geted Brownsburg (Ind.) High five- star quarterback Hunter Johnson early in the process, but after he gave an early pledge to Tennessee (and later switched to Clemson), the staff started looking at other targets. That's where Cedar Hill (Texas) High three-star quarterback Avery Davis entered the picture. Davis, who is ranked by Rivals as the No. 11 dual- threat quarterback in the country, isn't a household name when it comes to recruiting, but that didn't stop offen- sive coordinator Mike Sanford from offering a scholarship in October dur- ing Notre Dame's bye week. "I think what they really like is Av- ery's release," Cedar Hill High head coach Joey McGuire said. "I think he's a bigger kid than people think. He's a muscled-up joker." If Notre Dame misses on Davis, another name to watch is Littleton (Colo.) Valor Christian four-star quar-