Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly did suffer one major setback today, as 5-star wide receiver Deontay Greenberry, Mr. Football in the state of California, verbally committed to ND 8 months ago. Today, he changed his mind and instead signed with Houston.
However, there’s still a lot left in this class. ESPNU ranks the Irish class #9, Scout #15.
The nation’s No. 1 quarterback prospect and state of Indiana Mr. Football Gunner Kiel’s circus act style recruitment saw him committed to the Hoosiers and LSU before enrolling at Notre Dame in January. 5-Star cornerback Tee Shepard is the best overall prospect in this class, and he’s Greenberry’s cousin, so Deontay was expected to follow him to South Bend.
Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley out of Nevada is another national recruit who could have a big future in South Bend.
Among the 16 players that will be freshmen for the Irish this fall are:
– Four who were selected for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio: DL Jarron Jones, QB Gunner Kiel, RB KeiVarae Russell and DB Elijah Shumate.
– Five who played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Phoenix: DL Sheldon Day, WR Justin Ferguson, OL Mark Harrell, DB Tee Shepard and OL Ronnie Stanley.
– Nine members of the SuperPrep All-America Team: QB Gunner Kiel, RB KeiVarae Russell, WR Chris Brown, OL Ronnie Stanley, DL Jarron Jones, DL Sheldon Day, DB Tee Shepard, DB Elijah Shumate and DB C.J. Prosise.
Eight members of the Rivals.com 250: QB Gunner Kiel (20th), DB Tee Shepard (76th), DB Elijah Shumate (113th), RB KeiVarae Russell (124th), OL Ronnie Stanley (176th), RB Will Mahone (197th), DL Jarron Jones (199th) and DL Sheldon Day (244th).
– Nine members of the Scout.com Top 300: QB Gunner Kiel (38th), DB Tee Shepard (39th), DL Sheldon Day (50th), DB Elijah Shumate (55th), OL Ronnie Stanley (66th), RB Will Mahone (201st), RB KeiVarae Russell (207th), DL Jarron Jones (229th) and DB CJ Prosise (276th).
– Seven members of the 247Sports Top 247: QB Gunner Kiel (24th), DB Tee Shepard (50th), DL Sheldon Day (81st), DB Elijah Shumate (103rd), DL Jarron Jones (107th), RB KeiVarae Russell (122nd) and OL Ronnie Stanley (145th).
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