Notre Dame Recruiting: Can the Irish Lock Up Ken Ekanem During His Visit?

This will be the final weekend for recruits to visit schools and make contact with college coaches before the dead period commences during the final few days before National Signing Day on Feb. 1.

This means that schools like Notre Dame will have one last opportunity to impress uncommitted recruits, such as Ken Ekanem, a 4-star defensive end-linebacker tweener, who will take his final official visit to South Bend this weekend. 

Ekanem is one of the top-rated targets that the Irish would love to get their hands on, which makes this weekend's visit so crucial.

The Virginia native has reportedly narrowed his college choices down to two schools, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. Ekanem visited Blacksburg this past weekend, and according to Rivals.com, the trip went very well.

Whether or not the visit was enough to push the Hokies into the lead remains to be seen, but it’s obvious that Brian Kelly and his staff are going to have some work to do this weekend in order to convince Ekanem that Notre Dame is the perfect place for him.

As far as fitting into the Irish defense is concerned, the 6’3", 235-pound edge-rusher would be an ideal fit as an outside linebacker in Notre Dame’s 3-4 defensive system. However, we’ve also seen Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster work wonders with undersized defensive ends in years past. Therefore, he could also be a natural fit for the Hokies as well.

Ultimately, it will be interesting to see if Kelly can convince Ekanem to leave his home state and come play for the Irish. However, even if he loses out on the 4-star prospect, it wouldn’t exactly be the end of the world for Notre Dame.

Kelly has already assembled one of the top recruiting classes in the country this year, and he’s already picked up a commitment from an intriguing future outside linebacker in Romeo Okwara from Ardrey Kell HS in North Carolina.

Still, reeling in a talented recruit such as Ekanam would only serve to strengthen this year’s class. It would also add valuable depth to a key position for next season.

Expect Kelly and his staff to make a strong persuasive argument to the talented young prospect once he arrives on campus.