Notre Dame Football Recruiting 2013: Irish Continue Hot Streak, Land NJ Athlete

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish suffered quite a blow when they lost prized 2012 cornerback recruit Tee Shepard a few weeks ago, but the sting is starting to lessen rather quickly.

Although Shepard's loss leaves the Irish thin at cornerback, the landing of four 4-star recruits this past weekend at their Junior Day was a huge boost for the 2013 class.

That boost continued through Monday when they got news of another recruit heading to South Bend. Rashad Kinlaw, a 6'1", 180-pound athlete from Absegami HS (Galloway, NJ), has verbally committed to play for Notre Dame.

The New Jersey native—and Rivals 3-star—plays quarterback and defensive back for Absegami but was recruited as a cornerback for the Irish. Since the loss of Shepard, landing talent in the secondary has become more important than ever.

Notre Dame was far and away the best offer Kinlaw had, but he was also injured early last season and that may have contributed to his lack of elite offers. He was holding seven offers before committing to the Irish and was receiving interest from others as well.

Kinlaw joins offensive linemen Colin McGovern of New Lenox (IL) Lincoln-Way West, Hunter Bivin of Owensboro (KY) Apollo, Mike McGlinchey of Philadelphia (PA) William Penn Charter School and quarterback Malik Zaire of Kettering (OH) Archbishop Alter as the latest to join the class.

The three other pledges are James Onwualu, tackle Steve Elmer and tight end Jacob Matuska.

Kinlaw may not be the biggest of names, but he's a player the Irish cannot do without. Kelly and his staff continue to clean up on the trail, and the way things are going up in Ann Arbor, they'll need every last quality recruit to compete with their rival Wolverines in the coming the years.

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