Christmas came a little early for Notre Dame this year. On Christmas Eve the Irish picked up their 21st commitment in the class of 2016 when Troy Pride Jr selected Notre Dame over Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee. Pride, a four star cornerback, adds yet another elite talent to a deep and talented group of defensive backs for the Irish.

While Pride (6’0″, 165 lbs) gave the Irish an early Christmas present, he received one as well this week with a huge boost in his rankings from 247Sports. Pride was already a 4-star prospect according to 247Sports, but he jumped all the way up to the #85 recruit overall in the latest edition of their Top247. He also jumped up to the #9 ranked cornerback after previously being ranked 262nd overall and 23rd at cornerback.

Pride had previously been committed to Virginia Tech, but opened up his recruitment following the retirement announcement of Frank Beamer during the season. Ever since then, things have been trending Notre Dame’s way even as the Irish have collected an embarrassment of riches in the secondary in this year’s class.

With the addition of Troy Pride, Notre Dame now has 7 commitments in the secondary out of their current 21 total commits. Pride joins Devin Studstill, Donte Vaughn, Spencer Perry, Jalen Elliot, Julian Love, and DJ Morgan. Where the seven end up playing position wise is still to be determined as the majority of the secondary class all have the versatility to play multiple positions. Pride, however, is destined for cornerback.

With 21 commitments, Notre Dame still has room for at least four more commitments with a lot of prospects left on the board. How those four scholarships get used could end being a game of who commits first at this point. From a position standpoint though, it would make sense that the final four spots get used at wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive line although if an elite talent like Jordan Fuller were to still want join the class the staff would certainly find room for an elite talent such as Hamlin.

Notre Dame could get some more good news next week at the Under Armour and US Army All-American Bowls with a handful of remaining prospects considering announcing their college decisions at the games. A class that started a little slow has built up a lot of steam as the Irish head into the final stretch of this year’s class and appears destined for another top 10 finish.