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Football Banquet Recruiting Cheat Sheet

The football banquet will be overflowing with recruits and commitments - we'll review everything and give you some idea of what to expect from the weekend.

By manor98
Get that man some blue & gold. Stat.
Get that man some blue & gold. Stat.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The rankings listed here are from the 247 Composite, and are listed as overall ranking/position ranking. The main competition for non-Irish commits is listed after the rankings, in rough order of recruit interest.

2015 Recruits

Iman Marshall - CB - #3/#1 - USC (nearly a lock)

Alize Jones - #53/#1 - UCLA (soft verbal)

Dexter Williams - RB - #77/#8 - Miami (soft verbal), Louisville

Ronald Jones - RB - #85/#11 - USC, Oklahoma State (soft verbal)

Michael Weber - RB - #99/#13 -Michigan (decommit) Ohio State commit

Tyree Kinnel - S - #185/#11 - Michigan (soft verbal), Kentucky, Michigan State

Jordan Cronkrite - RB - #252/#19 - West Virginia, Louisville, North Carolina, Texas, Miami (decommit)

Lawrence Cager - WR - #335/#41 - Ohio State, Alabama, Virginia Tech

Gary Jennings - S - NR/#140 (ranked as a WR) - Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina

Jeremy Smith - RB - NR/NR (JUCO) - Louisville

Jordan Howard - RB - NR/NR - former UAB player

First, the scratches... The big running back visit list has shrunk considerably over the last few days. JUCO star Jeremy Smith will almost certainly not make the banquet. Louisville seems like his likely landing spot, although one national 247 analyst predicts he'll end up at Alabama. Michigan decommit Mike Weber canceled his visit to Notre Dame and will instead visit Ohio State this weekend, and committed to the Buckeyes last night prior to the trip. Dexter Williams, who rescheduled his Louisville game visit for the banquet after breaking his foot, will now visit Miami instead this weekend but says he'd still like to visit Notre Dame in January. Will we still have space?

Thursday night update: Lawrence Cager is now out, but interestingly, it looks like UAB running back Jordan Howard will be in town. Because the UAB program shut down, Howard and anyone else on their roster can transfer anywhere without penalty. Howard has two years of eligibility left.

Notes:

Iman Marshall is a very, very long shot, but he fits an all-around profile similar to that of his former teammate Juju Smith and probably has legitimate interest in at least seeing what Notre Dame is about. He says Juju gives him the most advice about the Irish, which is both interesting and concerning.

Analysts seem to be pretty confident that flipping Alize Jones to Notre Dame is a question of when, not if. A big selling point for the Irish is that they've told Jones he'll have an opportunity to play as a jumbo wide receiver, while everyone else is recruiting him just as a tight end.

Texas back Ronald Jones II is committed to Oklahoma State but seems very unlikely to sign with them. He liked the Irish earlier in the process and has come back to them recently, but USC also lurks for his services. The staff probably has Jones and Soso Jamabo rated very closely together. There are some positive vibes around Jones and the Irish, and perhaps some indications that the staff is slow playing other prospects because they like where they stand with RJ2.

Tyree Kinnel hasn't decommitted from Michigan yet, but the Cincinnati safety is exploring his options. Kentucky is sort of the hometown team here, plus the Spartans again are in the picture. Kinnel would probably wrap up safety recruiting in this class, but he's probably likely to land elsewhere too.

Florida back Jordan Cronkrite decommitted from Miami back in September, and will finally make a much-speculated-about official visit for the banquet. The physical speedster also has good hands and could get touches out of the slot as well as the backfield.

Lawrence Cager is a big target at receiver, already at 6'5" and 200 pounds, and has recently become a big target on the recruiting trail at well with Ohio State and Alabama turning up the heat. The Irish are probably running third here, but they have a real shot to make an impression at the banquet. If he commits, Equanimeous St. Brown is probably out.

Virginia athlete Gary Jennings is being recruited as a receiver by most schools; Notre Dame likes him as a safety, but with plus athleticism he could ultimately see action on either side of the ball for the Irish. Good work by Scott Booker to get Jennings in for an official visit.

2015 Commits

Brandon Wimbush - QB - #55/#4

Tristen Hoge - C - #89/#1

Shaun Crawford - CB - #116/#13

Josh Barajas - ILB - #169/#9

Asmar Bilal - OLB - #182/#5

Miles Boykin - WR - #196/#22

CJ Sanders - WR - #273/#31

Elijah Taylor - DT - #310/#23

Trevor Ruhland - OG - #493/#30

Jalen Guyton - WR - #505/#52

Brandon Tiassum - DT - #532/#31

Micah Dew-Treadway - DE - #552/#26

Ashton White - CB - #593/#53

Nick Coleman - CB - #678/#57

Nicco Fertitta - S - #935/#66

A Little Birdie Told Me

Some of our favorite tweets around the weekend or just ND recruiting to lighten it up a bit...

Jerry Tillery may not be coming to the banquet, but he still found time to share a dinner with Brian Kelly.

Shaun Crawford is HYPED. As are we, Shaun.

Speaking of talented Michigan defensive backs...

Miles Boykin working on that team chemistry already. And you know what? Both those guys - Shaun Crawford and Nicco Fertitta - did get rings.

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