One of the brightest young minds in college football could soon land at Notre Dame.

Irish247 is expecting it to happen after talking to multiple sources Wednesday.

Irish247 has learned that Boise State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford Jr. is the top target for Irish head coach Brian Kelly to join the staff in South Bend and it sounds like it will happen.

Sanford is the type of candidate that could ultimately be a successor to Kelly down the road. Besides Notre Dame, he’s interviewed recently at several schools including Ohio State, Oregon State and Vanderbilt.

Under Sanford’s direction during his first season at his alma mater this past fall, Boise State ranked 14th nationally in yards per game and ninth in scoring as the Broncos finished 12-2 including a win over Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl.

Prior to Boise State, Sanford spent three seasons at Stanford as a running backs coach (2011-12) and quarterbacks coach and receivers coach (2013), along with being the recruiting coordinator his final two years in Palo Alto.

Sanford was part of Stanford’s Pac-12 Championships in both 2012 and 2013. He coached in two Rose Bowls and a Fiesta Bowl as part of the staff. The Cardinal ranked 18th-nationally in rushing in 2011 (210.6), a major reason Stanford finished the season ranked seventh-nationally in scoring (43.2) and eighth-nationally in total offense (489.3).

Sanford’s father Mike is the head coach at Indiana State and a former assistant at several schools including Notre Dame, so there is a connection between the younger Sanford and the Irish.