Notre Dame Football: 3 National Signing Day pickups who’ll break out

Building a program in South Bend for a very bright future, Notre Dame football landed some key pickups on National Signing Day that will help out.

Notre Dame football was one of a handful of programs that had a nice haul on National Signing Day 2018. After signing 27 recruits for the 2018 recruiting cycle, the Fighting Irish rounded out with another top 10 class in the nation. Seven of those 27 prospects enrolled early to get a jump start in South Bend.

The best overall signing in this recruiting class for Notre Dame is four-star cornerback Houston Griffith. Four-star wide receiver Kevin Austin is not too far behind Griffith in the recruiting rankings.

This haul for Notre Dame was capped off by a strong showing from Brian Kelly on NSD. Without landing multiple four-star prospects during the NSD festivities, the Irish could have finished possibly outside the top 15 composite rankings, according to 247Sports.

For a program with expectations to compete within the top 15, or even the top 10, teams in the nation, bringing in more depth is huge. Athlon Sports, SEC Country, and CBS Sports, all have Notre Dame ranked inside the top 14 for their way too early college football polls for 2018.

Last year, the Irish surprised much of the college football world, turning around from a four win campaign in 2016 to double-digit wins in 2017. Less injuries and better team management from Kelly helped Notre Dame cap off one of the biggest turnarounds last year with a huge Citrus Bowl victory over Derrius Guice and the LSU Tigers.

Here’s a look at the three 2018 National Signing Day pickups who can break out for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their first year.