Four-Star DB Chris Steele

With National Signing Day just days away, 247Sports updated its 2019 rankings.

Notre Dame has extended a large sum of offers through January, bringing the Irish 2019 offer total to 123.

Although some are considered longshot types for Notre Dame, four prospects currently considering Notre Dame jumped inside the Top 50 this week.

Wide receiver Kyle Ford made a huge move from No. 177 overall to No. 25. After his 1,468 yards on 91 receptions vs. Trinity League competition this fall, this jump came as no surprise.

Another Trinity League star, cornerback Chris Steele, jumped to No. 44 overall while Hawaii linebacker Maninoa Tufono moved to No. 38.

Steele told Irish Illustrated that Irish staff Brian Polian and Clark Lea dropped by St. John Bosco early in the week. This was the second recent trip to Bosco from the Irish staff.

Moving into the Top 100 was another one of California’s top cornerback prospects in Rancho Cucamonga’s Jeremiah Criddell (No. 61 overall). Criddell was hoping to hit South Bend for the recent Junior Day but couldn’t make it. He confirmed that he will visit at a later date.

Also making the move into the Top 100, recently offered offensive tackle Harry Miller, a high academic prospect, jumped from No. 290 overall to No. 73.

A handful of prospects showing considerable interest in Notre Dame moved into the No. 100 – No. 200 range.

Two athletes in this group took unofficial visits to Notre Dame this fall.

First, California cornerback Trent McDuffie, who had a breakout season at Servite this fall, moved from No. 323 all the way to No. 159. Also rising substantially was wide receiver Jake Smith, currently one of the hottest prospects on the market (visited for Notre Dame Junior Day).

McDuffie has picked up offers from Boston College, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pittsburgh, and Washington recently. He hopes to return to South Bend.

“I want to try to get out (to Notre Dame) again,” McDuffie told Irish Illustrated recently. “(My visit) went beyond my expectations.”

The other two breaking into the Top 200 are safety Nick Cross, shooting up to No. 106 overall after previously being placed outside of the Top 300, and Isaiah Rutherford at No. 176 overall. The Irish are quietly making plenty of headway with Rutherford – a blazing fast two-way star out of the Sacramento area.

On Friday, Notre Dame offered another highly-discussed junior prospect in Justin Eboigbe, who landed at No. 134 overall after being unranked nationally.

In the last week, Eboigbe has picked up offers from Auburn, Boston College, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. He plans to visit South Bend.

Aside from Jake Smith and Eboigbe, another prospect receiving offers hand-over-fist is Texas wide receiver Elijah Higgins, who shot up to No. 217 – a 127 spot jump. Notre Dame offered Higgins on Tuesday and the Irish have impressed early.

Of course, all eyes are on National Signing Day as the Irish look to add the final pieces to their current Top 10 recruiting class. Going forward into the 2019 recruiting season, the Irish have made headway with plenty of high-caliber talent, including many of the fast-rising national prospects on this list.

It’s certainly worth mentioning that Notre Dame 2019 defensive tackle commitment Jacob Lacey moved up 25 spots to No. 102 overall. Quarterback commitment Cade McNamara took a massive leap – up 193 spots to No. 171 overall. And recent cornerback commitment landed at No. 303 overall.

In less than a week, 2019 recruiting will be moving full-steam ahead.

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