What Does The Commitment Of CJ Holmes Mean For Notre Dame?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a very good class already lined up for 2016. They were ranked inside the top 10 according to the composite rankings on 247, and generally, things were seemingly going with the plan. And then... And then CJ Holmes drops a commitment that would make Bill Dance cry, by fishing a leprechaun out of the water to announce he was going to attend Notre Dame.

AND IT STILL IS ALL GOING AS PLANNED!

Outside of the Robert Beal stuff, Irish fans have been spared a lot of recruiting drama early in this cycle. Things seem stable, and CJ Holmes solidifies a lot of that.

1. Holmes is the lone running back in this class, and it may stay that way. Yes, yes... Holmes is listed as an athlete, and he could very well end up in the slot- but he won't. He's probably something in between a George Atkinson III and CJ Prosise.
2. Tariq Black's decision may already be made. Holmes's teammate, Tariq Black would love to play with Holmes in college and he was even involved with the commitment video. While Black has set an announcement date during the Army All-American Bowl, he may already have plans to pull a leprechaun out of the water while ice fishing (which would make that the dopest commitment video ever).
3. Sometimes it is a numbers game. Technically, this puts the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 84 out of 85 scholarships. Technically. We all know that attrition happens every year, but even if 5 guys split in one way or another, that still only leaves Notre Dame with 6 more spots. One of those most likely will be gone by Sunday. Oh... It's tight.

This class is still headed towards a top 5 finish provided a few chips fall into place, and with plenty of time until signing day- it could go either way.