Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Irish Must Get 4-Star WR to South Bend

Speed can be an incredibly dangerous asset on a football field, and Notre Dame has a chance to bring in a 4-star wide receiver prospect with a whole lot of it. They just need to get him to South Bend.

Devon Allen is a 4-star receiver out of Brophy Prep in Phoenix, Arizona (per Rivals). He's got offers from a ton of great programs—some notables are Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Michigan State, Arizona, Arizona State and, of course, Notre Dame. 

According to Steve Hare of IrishIllustrated.com, Allen has narrowed his list:

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The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from Phoenix, Ariz., recently trimmed his list and Notre Dame made the first cut. UCLA, Arkansas, Stanford, Cal, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Michigan, Texas, LSU and Oregon are among Allen’s other favorites.

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While this is good news for Notre Dame, who only have one 3-star wideout committed to 2013 so far, the bad news is that they're still competing with some exceptional programs.

Somehow the Irish have to find an advantage, and according to Hare's report, assistant coach Bob Elliott thinks that advantage will come by getting Allen to South Bend:

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Elliott has been pushing for Allen to visit South Bend.

“He feels that visiting campus will probably end up selling me if I can get out there,” Allen said. “He thinks the campus life and what they have to offer might attract me.”

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If this is what it takes to bring in the 4-star wideout who's also a track star, then the Irish really need to make the push to get him on campus.

As shown by Rivals, Brian Kelly's 2013 class certainly has been very impressive—one 5-star recruit in linebacker Jaylon Smith and seven 4-star prospects—but the one thing they seem to be missing is a wide receiver with breakaway, game-changing speed.

Allen could fit that need perfectly. He runs a 4.5 40-yard dash, which is great. Even better is that, when you watch his tape, you can tell that's he's more than just a fast person. He's got football speed, and that makes a world of a difference.

He can easily stretch the deep zone of the field, but he possesses good hands to bring the ball in. He can also be an impact on special teams as a return man.

Somehow, someway, the staff has to get this kid to South Bend.

If Kelly can just convince Allen that he's building a championship squad, which he appears to be well on his way to doing, than the mystique and football history of Notre Dame will do the rest.

I mean, we've all seen Rudy right? How could a big time prospect not want to suit up in that locker room, hit the legendary "Play Like a Champion Today" sign and run out onto that field like so many college football greats have done?

You'd have to think the allure of playing at Notre Dame would be enough. Add in the actual football program that Kelly is building, and it should be an easy sell.

The Irish just have to get this kid to South Bend, and hopefully South Bend will do the rest.