Notre Dame Football: 3 early signees who’ll have instant impact in 2018

Head coach Brian Kelly and Notre Dame football locked in 20 signees on Dec. 20, and might finish the 2018 recruiting cycle with a top 10 class.

Notre Dame football had itself a huge day on the first day of the Early Signing Period. Most teams made what should be their biggest splash on the initial day of the new setup for the recruiting cycle. There were 20 recruits in the 2018 cycle that signed their Letter of Intent on the initial day of the Early Signing Period.

With those 20 early signees, the Fighting Irish jumped up to the No. 8 ranked class in the nation. Previously, Notre Dame was ranked No. 9, but Dec. 20 was a big enough day for them to be able to jump the Oklahoma Sooners in the national rankings.

Of the 20 signees for the Irish, 10 are four-star commits and 10 are three-star. The most talked about recruit in this class for the Irish is four-star dual-threat quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Head coach Brian Kelly had some kind words for Jurkovec.

In a press conference at the end of the first day of the Early Signing Period, Kelly said he wants Jurkovec to come in and challenge for the starting job, alongside junior Brandon Wimbush. That’s some high praise considering Wimbush led Notre Dame to five more regular season wins in 2017 than the team had in 2016.

Four-star cornerback Houston Griffith is the highest-ranked commit for the Irish. Griffith is the No. 63 recruit nationally and the 11th best cornerback in the nation. And, Jurkovec is the fifth best dual-threat quarterback in the nation. Notre Dame reeled in some big fish already.

Here’s three early signees who will make an instant impact for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2018.