Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
BY ANDREW IVINS F or the second straight year, Notre Dame finished with the No. 11 ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Rivals.com. The 2015 recruiting haul gave the program its sixth straight top-20 finish and ninth in the past 10 years. But for the first time since 2010 and only the fourth time in the Rivals.com era, Notre Dame didn't sign a five-star prospect. The goal for 2016 is to make sure that doesn't happen again, and the Notre Dame coaching staff has already laid the framework to do that. The Irish currently have one verbal commitment in the class of 2016 —Cincinnati Elder four-star offensive tackle Tommy Kraemer, who committed on Oct. 4, 2014. Kraemer — the No. 1 player in Ohio, the No. 4 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 31 overall prospect nationally — has the potential to earn a fifth-star down the line, but he isn't the lone elite talent the coaches have targeted for the next cycle. Notre Dame is also in the mix for Ann Arbor (Mich.) Skyline five-star linebacker Daelin Hayes, Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Carter four-star linebacker Lokeni Toailoa and Darien (Ill.) Hinsdale South four-star defensive end Josh King. All three players, like Kramer, have a chance to be a five-star prospect when the final Rivals rankings come out next January, and all three have been in contact with the Irish coaching staff. Hayes — the No. 1 prospect in Michigan, the No. 4 outside linebacker nationally and the No. 18 player overall player — is the top linebacker on the board, but he's currently committed to USC. That shouldn't be an issue for Notre Dame, however. The Irish managed to sign six prospects in the class of 2015 who were at one time committed to another school, and Hayes, who camped in South Bend last summer, is a prime candidate to make a flip. But if Notre Dame can't sway Hayes, that won't Rialto (Calif.) Wilmer Carter linebacker Lokeni Toailoa is listed as a four-star prospect, the No. 2 inside linebacker in the country, the No. 6 player in California and the No. 47 overall prospect in the class of 2016 by Rivals.com. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Notre Dame Looks For Five-Star Talent In 2016 Class