Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING terback Dylan McCaffrey, who is the son of former NFL wideout Ed Mc- Caffrey and the brother of Stanford star running back Christian McCaffrey. RUNNING BACK 2016 Running Backs On Roster: 6 Projected Take: 1 The future of Notre Dame's back- field looks bright following Josh Adams' record-breaking freshman season, and while speedy classmate Dexter Williams figures to provide a change of pace over the next couple of seasons, the Irish are still expected to take a back in 2017. Antioch (Calif.) Senior High run- ning back and Alabama commit Najee Harris appears to be the staff's top tar- get. Kelly and Sanford were at Harris' school in early December, and the duo is working to get the five-star pros- pect –– Rivals' No. 1 recruit in Califor- nia, and No. 1 running back and No. 5 overall prospect in the nation –– on campus. While Harris might be a priority, so is four-star running back A.J. Dil- lon of Gorton (Mass.) Lawrence Acad- emy. Dillon, who is ranked as the No. 16 running back in the country, is the grandson of former Irish great Thom Gatewood. He visited for the Irish In- vasion last June and was offered in January. WIDE RECEIVER 2016 Wide Receivers On Roster: 9 Projected Take: 2 If there's one rule of thumb when it comes to Kelly's recruiting strategy outside of taking a quarterback every class, it's signing a bundle of wideouts every cycle. After taking four wide re- ceivers in 2015, the Irish took three in 2016. The 2017 haul will likely call for two or three more. Notre Dame extended an early offer to Los Angeles Hawkins four-star wide receiver Joseph Lewis –– Rivals' No. 6 wideout and No. 40 overall prospect nationally –– and while he has visited campus and expressed interest, the two most realistic targets appear to be Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star wide receiver Osiris St. Brown and Cheshire (Conn.) Academy four-star wide re- ceiver Tarik Black. St. Brown — who is ranked by Rivals as the No. 15 player in California, and the No. 14 wide receiver and No. 115 overall prospect in the land — is the brother of Irish wide receiver Equa- nimeous St. Brown. Black –– Rivals' No. 16 wide receiver nationally –– was at Fenway Park for the Shamrock Series game last season. TIGHT END 2016 Tight Ends On Roster: 4 Projected Take: 2 Notre Dame elected to pass on a tight end in 2016, which opened the door for two in 2017, and it didn't take long to fill those slots with a pair of the na- tion's best. Wright –– Rivals' No. 1 tight end and No. 34 overall recruit in the country –– committed to the Irish in June. Just a few months later, Cole Kmet — Rivals' No. 5 tight end and No. 178 overall