Notre Dame Football Recruiting 2012: Latest News on the Irish's Biggest Targets

Notre Dame's season has been a roller coaster. The Irish were thought to be a BCS team this year, but that's not how things are shaping up now.

On the recruiting side, things have gone pretty well. The Irish have 15 commitments and nine of the players are rated four stars or higher, including three 5-star commitments, per Scout.com.

I'm just going to give you the latest news of some of their top remaining targets.

Agholor Still Playing Too Close to the Vest

Nelson Agholor, the 6'2", 180-pound ATH from Florida, took an unofficial visit to South Bend in October. His high school coach says Notre Dame was a school that Agholor really wanted to see in person.

Yet, Agholor hasn't done much talking about his recruitment, as he really doesn't tip his hand. From USC to Florida to Auburn to Texas to Oklahoma and more, Agholor has a ton of college programs on edge waiting to see what he's done.

Or at least where he's leaning. Notre Dame included.

Irish Open to Armstead Playing Some Post?

Right now, it looks like Arik Armstead is open to any school that will allow him to play two sports in college. You see, aside from being a dominating trench player, Armstead is also a very good big man on the basketball court.

The latest with him, per his father Guss, is that Arik really wants to play both football and basketball in college.

If the Irish are cool with that, then they're still in this thing, but if Brian Kelly objects, look for Armstead to move on from ND.

Spence Holding off on Recruiting

Spence is in the midst of a playoff run right now with his prep team and he's not thinking about recruiting. Penn State could be out it due to the uncertainty of the program's future.

But with USC, Maryland, UNC, Florida and NC State in the race, Notre Dame could be in for a fight when things pick up again for the top pass rusher in the country. 

Clemson in the Race for Marshall

Notre Dame's top RB target, 5-star recruit Keith Marshall, recently took a trip to Clemson and to the dismay of Irish fans, it really opened his eyes.

The Tigers now find themselves at the table for Marshall along with the Irish, Georgia and Florida. Virginia Tech, North Carolina and South Carolina are in the hunt as well.

Here's another recruit the Irish will have to beat out several powers for. Marshall is expected to decide in December.

Predictions Starting to Come in on Kiel

The saga of Notre Dame's recruitment for Gunner Kiel has been up and down. Initially the Iirsh were thought to be the favorite for Blair Kiel's nephew, but then he pledged to Indiana and looked solid.

Yet, earlier this fall, Kiel de-committed from the Hoosiers and opened himself back up. Now, talk is growing about Kiel to the Irish.

In fact, Irish Eyes and Scout.com's Brian Dohn are predicting Kiel ends up in South Bend.