Notre Dame Recruiting: Top Prospects Irish Hope to Land on National Signing Day

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a strong recruiting class at the moment, but with National Signing Day just around the corner, their class of 2012 could get astronomically better. 

Brian Kelly is taking the right steps to ensure the Fighting Irish keep bringing in great talent, but his work is not yet through. Some recruits with interest in Notre Dame have plans to wait until after National Signing Day to make their decision. 

As for those expected to announce on Feb. 1, if the Fighting Irish can land all of them it could be enough to push them into the top five of recruiting rankings. It will be near impossible to get all of them, but should Notre Dame land some of the higher ranked players, the Fighting Irish's future will get even brighter. 

That being said, here are just three of the many prospects the Fighting Irish hope they get on National Signing Day. 

Arik Armstead, DE 

The No. 2 overall player by Scout.com, Armstead is most likely to going to play on the defensive line, but he's just as skilled there as he is on the offensive line. 

This is what makes him so highly coveted, along with the fact he's 6'8", 280 pounds. 

In addition to Notre Dame, Oregon, Cal and Auburn are the favorites to land Armstead, so it's not going to be easy to get him. 

Armstead is sure to be a force upon his arrival, and since he's expected to get stronger once he gets to school. Armstead is going to be a dominant player throughout his college career, which is why the Fighting Irish have to keep pushing hard to get him. 

Ronald Darby 

Dave Hooker of ESPN reports that Darby will indeed make his announcement on National Signing Day. 

Seeing as how he was once committed to Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish really hope to have him back. Darby wants to also run track, so it could be difficult for Kelly to convince him to recommit with the Fighting Irish. 

However, Notre Dame has experience in bringing players back. Evidence of this was seen last year with getting Aaron Lynch to come back. 

Hooker states that Darby still has interest in Notre Dame, so they aren't out of the running. This 4-star cornerback is one of the best in the country, and he is a player the Fighting Irish need to have to help better the future of their defense. 

Nelson Agholor, WR

This 4-star wideout is likely to announce on National Signing Day, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

That report states that along with Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, USC and Oklahoma are on the top of his list. 

He has the skills to play other positions, but the Fighting Irish would likely use him as a wide receiver because of their need for a playmaking wideout. 

Listed at 6'2", 180 pounds, Agholor will need to bulk up, but there's no denying he is a special talent that would be of great help for the Fighting Irish.