Any surprises left for Notre Dame's 2019 class in early signing period?
Don’t expect a ton of drama for Notre Dame during this week’s early signing period.
The Irish entered this season with most of their 2019 class in place. Only four recruits have committed to ND since July 5. The early signing period, which begins Wednesday morning and ends Friday night and was initiated last year, allowed ND to focus on just a handful of players down the stretch and look onward to 2020.
All 21 of ND’s verbal pledges are expected to sign with the Irish this week. The two recruits not committed to the Irish that could sign are Carlsbad (Calif.) High linebacker Asa Turner and Concord (Calif.) De La Salle defensive end Isaiah Foskey, although they could both delay their decisions. Neither scheduled formal announcements.
Turner committed to Washington on July 14. That has not deterred ND’s staff from continuing to pursue and visit him. The 6-foot-4, 201-pounder curiously deleted all of his tweets, including his commitment tweet to the Huskies. 247Sports predicts the four-star will choose the Irish. His decision may not be known until he signs a National Letter of Intent.
(12 p.m. update): A Carlsbad High Twitter account reported that Turner didn't sign this morning and that he "will take some more time to make his final decision."
Football signing day at Carlsbad High School Carlos Harrison will be a Cowboy at the University of Wyoming, Duke Paane a Midshipman at the Naval Academy and Asa Turner announced that he will take some more time to make his final decision. #chslancers#cusdlearns. pic.twitter.com/lgMRroMBO1
— Carlsbad HS Lancers (@CarlsbadLancers) December 19, 2018
Seventeen of 247Sports’ Crystal Ball experts have projected where Foskey will land. All of them predicted ND. The 6-5, 226-pounder officially visited South Bend for ND’s Sept. 29 contest against Stanford. Foskey, a four-star, is also considering California, Michigan, Ohio State and Washington. A delayed decision until National Signing Day in February wouldn't be a surprise.
Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick receiver Cornelius Johnson included ND in his Dec. 10 top five list. However, it would be a surprise if the 6-3, 195-pounder signed with the Irish. 247Sports and Rivals project Johnson will land with the Wolverines. Johnson attended Michigan’s basketball game last Saturday. He’s also considering Stanford, Alabama and Penn State.
The ND coaching staff visited every commit since Nov. 25, the first day of the recent contact period. In the first week, ND head coach Brian Kelly tagged along for four of the 17 commit visits. In the last two weeks, he’s been there for 12 of the 17 commits visits.
The Irish signed 21 recruits last December before hauling in six more on National Signing Day in February. Portland (Ore.) Tigard receiver Braden Lenzy marked the only recruit that signed on the final day of the early signing period last year. Seven signees enrolled early, a then-record.
The Irish plan to break that mark in 2019 with 10 early enrollees. Those are: OL Andrew Kristofic, OL Zeke Correll, OL Quinn Carroll, OL John Olmstead, DT Jacob Lacey, DT Hunter Spears, DE NaNa Osafo-Mensah, RB Kyren Williams, P Jay Bramblett and LB Jack Kiser.
247Sports ranks ND’s class seventh-best in the country, while Rivals slates it at No. 9. ND’s 2018 class ranked No. 9 and No. 11, respectively. The Irish have not ranked top 10 on both sites since 2013 — when it ranked No. 6 and No. 3, respectively.
