The recruiting class of 2020 still has a window to sign, giving them until the first of April to do so but players rarely wait that long to sign their Letters of Intent. However, teams and reporters are already looking towards next year and that is exactly what 247Sports did yesterday. They looked at the Five biggest recruiting story-lines heading into the ’21 cycle and Notre Dame was mentioned more than once.

The first time Notre Dame is noted is when Steve Wiltfong mentioned the recruitment of star North Carolina running back Will Shipley, calling him the “Lightning Rod Recruit,” while delivering some news that will make Irish fans happy.

The “schools that appear to be in the best position to land Shipley include the previously mentioned Tigers (Clemson) and Buckeyes alongside Notre Dame,” and being in the top 3 for Shipley at this moment is huge. Wiltfong also mentions that Shipley is a “very high academic kid” and bodes well for the Irish as they have the best academic profile of his perceived top three.

The second mention of the Irish by Wiltfong was about Kelly’s notion that the Irish could have perennial top-five recruiting classes. Well, if you look at their composite class rankings at the moment, the Irish are firmly in the top-three behind Ohio State and Clemson. He mentions the commits of WR Deion Colzie and QB Tyler Buchner as the best of the bunch currently committed to the Irish. If Kelly is able to add the aforementioned Shipley, the class would look even better going forward. The fast start clearly has the Irish ahead of the game for the ’21 cycle, and a strong finish will find them among the nations best recruiting classes.