Blue and Gold Illustrated

March 2016

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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2016 RECRUITING ISSUE BY JORDAN WELLS V ery little drama played out in South Bend on National Signing Day. Notre Dame inked 23 student- athletes in its 2016 recruiting class, including just one NSD addition in Orlando (Fla.) Oak Ridge linebacker Jonathan Jones. Additionally, one more possibility still waits in the wings in Savannah (Ga.) Christian School wide receiver Demetris Robertson, the No. 8 overall player in the nation. The 23-man group was ranked as high as 12th nationally by Rivals and as low as 16th by ESPN. Blue & Gold Illustrated spoke with some of the na- tion's top recruiting experts to gather their thoughts on the class and more. BGI: What are your overall thoughts on Notre Dame's class? Mike Farrell, Rivals director of re- cruiting: "I think they finished right around the top 10, and I think that's what you're looking for every year. Their class has some diversity to it, and they hit some key positional needs. "Depending on how some guys pan out, I think they've put themselves in good shape." Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports director of recruiting: "When you look at the schools that are most the most suc- cessful, they bring in classes that are ranked in the top 15 and address their needs, and I think for the most part Notre Dame did that. "This is a group that can help them stay in the national championship hunt. It's a balanced class that hit on the biggest needs that they had, in- cluding the secondary." Veteran recruiting analyst Tom Lemming: "It's definitely a class that can keep them in playoff contention. It's not loaded with 'impact' guys, but it's very balanced. "Going forward if they can land just a few more 'impact' guys on defense, you're going to see Notre Dame win a national title, because offensively PLAYOFF EXPECTATIONS The nation's top recruiting experts say Notre Dame's 23-man class will help the Irish be a contender down the line

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