College Football

Notre Dame Football: Top National Signing Day targets

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:52 p.m. ET

Fansided, Connor Muldowney/FanSided via Saturday Blitz

With National Signing Day approaching, here are the top remaining targets for Notre Dame football.

The 2016 season was not kind to Notre Dame football. The Fighting Irish were a top-10 team to start the year, but lost the opener to Texas and it was all downhill from there. In fact, Notre Dame finished the season with a 4-8 record, even losing a home game to Michigan State who finished one game worse at 3-9.

Brian Kelly was being blamed for the struggles and his inability to accept responsibility nearly cost him his job. It seemed like every week he was passing the blame to his players which rubbed some people the wrong way.

However, the head coach retained his job for at least one more season and will likely need an inverse record, 8-4, in 2017 in order to remain in South Bend. He had been considered one of the best coaches in the country before the 2016 season, but the way he handled himself has people doubting that he’s the answer for the program.

Notre Dame still has the 12th-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports, and that’s impressive for a team that went just 4-8. That just goes to show how easy the Notre Dame brand will always sell and that Kelly still remains one of the better recruiters in the nation.

There are still some top targets left on the board for the Fighting Irish with National Signing Day coming up. They hosted some of those targets this past weekend in the final official visit opportunity of the 2017 cycle.

Let’s take a look at the top remaining Notre Dame football targets before National Signing Day.

4. Jafar Armstrong, 4-star WR (Mission, Kansas)

Flipping commits is never easy, but that looks to be the case with Missouri four-star receiver commit Jafar Armstrong from Mission, Kansas. He took an official visit to Notre Dame on Jan. 27 and the tides seem to be turning in the favor of the Fighting Irish.

In fact, that visit by Armstrong to Notre Dame may have been the reason he de-committed from Missouri on Sunday. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound receiver is one of the top uncommitted prospects left in the class and Notre Dame is looking to add another wide out.

Michael Young, a three-star from Louisiana, is the only wide receiver currently committed to the Fighting Irish in the 2017 class and they are looking to add one, maybe two, more. Armstrong seems like the best bet to pick Notre Dame before signing day.

P.J. Fleck of Minnesota has been making a run at Armstrong as well, but the overwhelming prediction is the four-star wide out to Notre Dame.

Armstrong ranks as the No. 254 overall prospect and the 33rd-best wide receiver in the class, according to 247Sports. A decision from Armstrong will likely come on National Signing Day.

3. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, 4-star DE (Kapolei, Hawaii)

Another kid who recently took a visit to Notre Dame was four-star defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa from Hawaii. The uncommitted prospect was offered by Notre Dame just three weeks ago and he already scheduled a visit to South Bend. His final trip before National Signing Day was to Vanderbilt, however.

The Fighting Irish have been making the defensive line a priority in this class, it seems, with the commitments of Darnell Ewell, Kurt Hinish and Jonathon MacCollister, but there’s still room for a guy like Tagovailoa-Amosa.

It’s not easy to get in on a kid’s recruitment in the final month and have this great of a chance to land him, but Brian Kelly has been doing an impressive job reeling him in after just a few weeks of hard recruiting.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound strong-side defensive end from Hawaii doesn’t play the most elite talent in the country, but it’s easy to see why he’s so highly coveted. He’s strong, quick off the ball and has ideal size for a defensive end. Notre Dame has been known for its defense over the past few years and he could be a nice piece for the future.

Tagovailoa-Amosa is also being courted by USC, Vanderbilt and Oregon but the Fighting Irish seem to be leading for him. He’s ranked the No. 247 overall prospect, 10th-best strong-side defensive end and second-best Hawaii recruit, according to 247Sports.

2. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, 3-star ATH (Hampton, Va.)

The last two players on the board for Notre Dame are in the middle of heated recruiting battles with a couple of Big Ten rivals. The first is Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah who is deciding between Michigan State and Notre Dame and the word on the street is that the Spartans might just lead for him.

However, that rumor was circulating following Mark Dantonio’s in-home visit with him last week, but he followed that up with his final official to Notre Dame on Jan. 27. Anything can change when a team has the last planned visit for a certain recruit — that usually gives that team a leg up.

The National Signing Day decision will be an exciting one as Owusu-Koramoah hasn’t shown his hand just yet and it seems like both the Spartans and Fighting Irish are deadlocked in his mind. He has just a couple days to pick where he will spend the next four years of his life and he fits into both defenses.

Michigan State is recruiting him to be a linebacker/safety hybrid while Notre Dame is doing the same, potentially using him at the rover position. That’s attractive to him and that’s why those two programs are his finalists.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pound athlete is ranked the No. 336 overall prospect and 10th-best recruit from the state of Virginia, according to 247Sports. He was originally committed to Virginia before de-committing on Jan. 20.

1. Oliver Martin, 4-star WR (Iowa City, Iowa)

Another kid who has been relatively silent on the recruiting trail is Oliver Martin. As stated earlier, Notre Dame is looking to add another receiver or two to the 2017 class and Martin is the top recruit left on the board for the Fighting Irish. Not only is he an impressive target for the Fighting Irish, but Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa are also after him.

Martin’s recruitment blew up over the summer when he dominated at Nike’s The Opening in Oregon and was named an Army All-American. Since then, he has risen in just about all the rankings, sitting at No. 47 overall and listed as the seventh-best receiver in the 2017 class, according to 247Sports.

Michigan has taken a slight lead for the four-star from Iowa City because of a recent in-home visit by Jim Harbaugh and a final official planned to Ann Arbor on Jan. 27, but each program has its own draw. Notre Dame was the perceived leader for some time as he has a strong connection with the staff, Iowa is the hometown program, Ohio State is a national title contender and Michigan State has his good friend, three-star QB Rocky Lombardi, committed in 2017.

A decision hasn’t been made yet, but expect it to come down to Michigan State, Michigan and Notre Dame — but I’d expect the Wolverines to win this one out because of a late surge by Harbaugh.