Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Top 5 post-spring targets for 2020 class

Notre Dame football has already landed a few key players in the 2020 class. Where will the Irish shift their eyes going into the summer?

It always seems to be hard for Notre Dame recruiting to land an elite class, but they almost always rack up on talent. They will be ranked, but it appears as if they are always one or two recruits away from getting in the top five classes. Whether it’s because they are independent, the location of the school, or any other factors, Notre Dame struggles to get the top-tier recruits.

However, Brian Kelly hopes that this stigma is a thing of the past. After their first appearance in the College Football Playoff, recruits will be the key in getting back there in the future. With the new early signing period, it is hard for a playoff appearance to affect that year’s recruiting class. However, it will definitely have an impact on the class that watched the College Football Playoff as juniors in high school.

There will be tons of needs on both sides of the ball that this recruiting class needs to fill. Notre Dame’s top two running backs will both be off the team by the time the 2020 class is eligible. The team will also be without Ian Book, their starting quarterback. Miles Boykin graduated in 2018, and Chase Claypool will graduate after this season.

Defensively, last year’s co-leader in sacks Julian Okwara will be a senior this year. They will also have to replace Jalen Elliot, last year’s interceptions leader. All in all, next season will be led by a lot of seniors, so it is vital to have some new recruits ready to replace them.

Although some recruits have already committed to Notre Dame, there is still a lot of work to do. Here are some of the top recruits of the 2020 class that the Fighting Irish will definitely prioritize.

All recruiting information comes from 247Sports.