I'm going to put them in order from most important, IMO, to least. Note that I won't include anyone that I don't think ND has a legitimate shot at landing.
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR)
Composite Ranking: 0.9895
Best Offers: Every Team With A Pulse
Things seem to be trending away from Notre Dame due to distance from home and Amon-Ra wanting to go on his adventure. It's a 3 horse race, with USC likely in the lead, Stanford running second and ND in third, but until St. Brown chooses somebody else and signs an LOI, he will remain the top target on ND's board. Best WR in the nation, IMO, absolute game changer. Not much more needs to be said.
2. Nick Petit-Frere (OT)
Composite Ranking: 0.9664
Best Offers: Every Team with A Pulse
In a class low on top end offensive line talent, landing Petit Frere would be massive for Harry Hiestand and Notre Dame. As a player he's nearly identical to Ronnie Stanley and he's a surefire future left tackle with all the athleticism you could ever ask for. Sources around Notre Dame and Alabama seem to think that this will turn out to be a two team race between the Irish and Crimson Tide, with Florida potentially running third. If Mike McGlinchey becomes Hiestand's third straight LT to be a 1st round draft pick, it's going to be hard for Petit-Frere to turn down.
3. Jayson Oweh (WDE)
Composite Ranking: 0.9146
Best Offers: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Miami, Georgia, Virginia Tech
If #3 sound high to you, let me explain. First of all, Oweh has played ONE year of football and at 6'5, 236lbs, coaches are drooling about the potential of the kid who runs in the 4.5's and broad jumps nearly 11 feet. This is the type of athletic edge pass rusher (Daelin Hayes) that Notre Dame always struggles to land and develop. The drop end is very important in Mike Elko's system. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State (in that order) are Oweh's 3 finalists and he'll visit each again in July before making a decision prior to his senior season. Ohio State already has two stud defensive ends committed in their class, where as Notre Dame has on Justin Ademilola at this point. Adding Oweh would be a huge. The kid was unranked months ago and now has a .91+ composite. Expect that to continue to soar after his senior season.
4. Shayne Simon (Rover)
Composite Ranking 0.9326
Best Offers: Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, UCLA
ND is only truly pursuing one Rover candidate in the 2018 class and that is Simon. at 6'3, 220lbs you would struggle to create a better rover body type in a lab. Simon is exactly what Mike Elko is looking for and could be ready to play really early in his career. This is a 3 team race with Notre Dame battling Michigan (the once perceived leader) and UCLA. Simon seems to be close to winding his recruitment down and most feel that ND has a sizeable lead. We'll soon see if that's the case. Mike Elko and Clark Lea have done a great job recruiting that Ademilola's teammate.
5. Kevin Austin Jr (WR)
Composite Ranking: 0.9353
Best Offers: Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Michigan, USC, Florida, Ohio State
Undeniably one of the best wide receivers as the class, Austin performed extremely well The Opening, especially in 7 on 7 play. He's not a burner off the line of scrimmage and he's more 6'2 than the 6'3-6'4 he's been listed at, but he's physically very mature and has a huge catch radius. He's sneaky fast and chews up a lot of ground, much like Michael Floyd did. Stylistically he reminds me of a more focused DaVaris Daniels and I expect his stock to continue to rise as new rankings come out. His offer list is one of the very best in the nation and he has a top 4 of Notre Dame, Duke, Tennessee and Miami, with most people believing ND is way out front and could land a commitment any time now. After losing Braden Lenzy, and Amon-Ra St. Brown seeming unlikely at this point, Austin Jr is ND's best chance at a top wide receiver.
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR)
Composite Ranking: 0.9895
Best Offers: Every Team With A Pulse
Things seem to be trending away from Notre Dame due to distance from home and Amon-Ra wanting to go on his adventure. It's a 3 horse race, with USC likely in the lead, Stanford running second and ND in third, but until St. Brown chooses somebody else and signs an LOI, he will remain the top target on ND's board. Best WR in the nation, IMO, absolute game changer. Not much more needs to be said.
2. Nick Petit-Frere (OT)
Composite Ranking: 0.9664
Best Offers: Every Team with A Pulse
In a class low on top end offensive line talent, landing Petit Frere would be massive for Harry Hiestand and Notre Dame. As a player he's nearly identical to Ronnie Stanley and he's a surefire future left tackle with all the athleticism you could ever ask for. Sources around Notre Dame and Alabama seem to think that this will turn out to be a two team race between the Irish and Crimson Tide, with Florida potentially running third. If Mike McGlinchey becomes Hiestand's third straight LT to be a 1st round draft pick, it's going to be hard for Petit-Frere to turn down.
3. Jayson Oweh (WDE)
Composite Ranking: 0.9146
Best Offers: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Miami, Georgia, Virginia Tech
If #3 sound high to you, let me explain. First of all, Oweh has played ONE year of football and at 6'5, 236lbs, coaches are drooling about the potential of the kid who runs in the 4.5's and broad jumps nearly 11 feet. This is the type of athletic edge pass rusher (Daelin Hayes) that Notre Dame always struggles to land and develop. The drop end is very important in Mike Elko's system. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State (in that order) are Oweh's 3 finalists and he'll visit each again in July before making a decision prior to his senior season. Ohio State already has two stud defensive ends committed in their class, where as Notre Dame has on Justin Ademilola at this point. Adding Oweh would be a huge. The kid was unranked months ago and now has a .91+ composite. Expect that to continue to soar after his senior season.
4. Shayne Simon (Rover)
Composite Ranking 0.9326
Best Offers: Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, UCLA
ND is only truly pursuing one Rover candidate in the 2018 class and that is Simon. at 6'3, 220lbs you would struggle to create a better rover body type in a lab. Simon is exactly what Mike Elko is looking for and could be ready to play really early in his career. This is a 3 team race with Notre Dame battling Michigan (the once perceived leader) and UCLA. Simon seems to be close to winding his recruitment down and most feel that ND has a sizeable lead. We'll soon see if that's the case. Mike Elko and Clark Lea have done a great job recruiting that Ademilola's teammate.
5. Kevin Austin Jr (WR)
Composite Ranking: 0.9353
Best Offers: Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Michigan, USC, Florida, Ohio State
Undeniably one of the best wide receivers as the class, Austin performed extremely well The Opening, especially in 7 on 7 play. He's not a burner off the line of scrimmage and he's more 6'2 than the 6'3-6'4 he's been listed at, but he's physically very mature and has a huge catch radius. He's sneaky fast and chews up a lot of ground, much like Michael Floyd did. Stylistically he reminds me of a more focused DaVaris Daniels and I expect his stock to continue to rise as new rankings come out. His offer list is one of the very best in the nation and he has a top 4 of Notre Dame, Duke, Tennessee and Miami, with most people believing ND is way out front and could land a commitment any time now. After losing Braden Lenzy, and Amon-Ra St. Brown seeming unlikely at this point, Austin Jr is ND's best chance at a top wide receiver.