National Signing Day 2017: 3-Star WR Michael Young to Notre Dame

Michael Young’s commitment represents more than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish identifying a three-star wide receiver with great upside. Young is from Louisiana, a state that the Irish have traditionally struggled to lure student-athletes away from.

Young got offers from some in-state colleges - Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Louisiana Ragin Cajuns and ULM Warhawks. But his list of college offers outside the Bayou suggests they all saw something LSU didn’t — Oregon Ducks, Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas A&M Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks, to name a few.

247 Sports

Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports’ National Recruiting Director, was impressed with what he saw:

Young is the ideal guy for what Notre Dame likes. A 5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect that likely plays around 200 pounds in a couple years. A sure-handed receiver that can line up all over, beat you vertically or line up in the slot and be a nightmare all afternoon going across the middle.

Young was the sole wide receiver commitment in the Irish’s 2017 class after Jordan Pouncey bolted, but was recently joined by four-star wideout Jafar Armstrong of Bishop Miege High School (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) They join a talented squad that includes juniors Equanimeous St. Brown, Miles Boykin and C.J. Sanders and sophomores Javon McKinley, Kevin Stepherson and Chase Claypool.

Young is a consensus three-star among the three main recruiting sites, but there is some variation. 247 Sports considers him the 47th best wide receiver in the class, while Rivals and Scout both have him in the 70s.

Even if Young doesn’t makes as much of a splash as Boykin has so far, he’s proof that there’s life in Louisiana. Brian Kelly was able to coax Jerry Tillery from Louisiana - the first Irish recruit from that state since 1999 - and now he’s got Young. It’s an important second step in making an impact in the sixth most fertile state for blue-chip talent.

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