By Brian Hamilton
Notre Dame continues to ride the inevitable swells of Signing Day, welcoming the letter of intent from linebacker Justin Utopo and watching as a potential last-minute surprise, elite linebacker Christian Jones, decided to ink with Florida State as expected.
As it stands after the Utopo signing became official, the Irish recruiting class numbers 16 players, though pledges from as far away as Hawaii still could be in the offing.
"We're really trying to add some more athletes to this class," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "There are a couple really special ones out there, and hopefully we'll hear something pretty soon."
Notre Dame continues to ride the inevitable swells of Signing Day, welcoming the letter of intent from linebacker Justin Utopo and watching as a potential last-minute surprise, elite linebacker Christian Jones, decided to ink with Florida State as expected.
As it stands after the Utopo signing became official, the Irish recruiting class numbers 16 players, though pledges from as far away as Hawaii still could be in the offing.
"We're really trying to add some more athletes to this class," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "There are a couple really special ones out there, and hopefully we'll hear something pretty soon."
And Kelly made it clear Wednesday morning: With a full recruiting cycle
ahead of them, the Irish staff plans on targeting elite players for
2011. An abbreviated recruiting homestretch made it difficult to secure
such talent in 2010, but the calls are already out for next year.
"We have made selected calls to juniors that we feel are national recruits," Kelly said. "When you're recruiting coast-to-coast at Notre Dame, you can't just rely on that May recruiting period to get out and see kids. Today was our opportunity to say, we hope we're in this position with you in 365 days -- waiting for your national letter of intent to come in. It was a good opportunity for us to reach out and talk to those high-profile kids."
"We have made selected calls to juniors that we feel are national recruits," Kelly said. "When you're recruiting coast-to-coast at Notre Dame, you can't just rely on that May recruiting period to get out and see kids. Today was our opportunity to say, we hope we're in this position with you in 365 days -- waiting for your national letter of intent to come in. It was a good opportunity for us to reach out and talk to those high-profile kids."
Looking forward to a great 2010/11 ND football season!!! Great coach, new focus, positive results. Let's go Irish.