Notre Dame Football: The Top 5 Recruits the Irish Should Target

Brian Kelly has recruited very well during his time at Notre Dame. His aim has always been and will continue to be getting players that fit his schemes will upgrading the speed and athleticism on the roster. Based on his past several classes, Kelly has done a good job in doing that via the recruiting trail.

This 2013 class has 20 commitments and is almost full to the brim. Yet there still remain several high caliber targets for Kelly and Irish coaches to hit on. In this piece, I'm going to quickly run down the top five targets that remain for Notre Dame in their 2013 recruiting campaign.

Here we go!

5. Ebenezer Ogndeko, OLB/DE

From Brooklyn, Ogundeko is a 6'3", 230-pound edge-player that will more than likely be an OLB in the Irish 3-4 defense. He can stand up and rush the passer with good quickness, solid strength and speed.

Scout.com reports that Notre Dame is included in a top five that includes of Florida, Alabama, Syracuse and Arizona State.

Three trips have been scheduled to ASU, Florida and Syracuse. Look for Notre Dame to lure him in for a visit as well and for current Irish OLB, Ishaaq Williams, also a New Yorker, to help host him.

4. Johnny Johnson, CB

Johnson is a tough and physical corner prospect from Northern California. He stands just a hair over 5'9" and weighs about 180 pounds. He likes to press and jam, and has a strong strike and great quickness in coverage.

Per Scout.com, Notre Dame will get a visit from Johnson for the Michigan game September 22nd. He's also visiting Washington, UCLA and Oklahoma. Stanford is very heavy in the mix too.

3. Alquadin Muhammad, DE

For Notre Dame, the only knock on Muhammad's recruitment prospects is his preference to play with his hand down over standing up. Besides that, the 6'4", 230-pounder is a good fit for the Irish program.

From New Jersey and a former high school teammate of current Notre Dame linebacker Elijah Shumate, Muhammad told Scout.com last month that he will take a visit to South Bend at some point this fall.

USC and Alabama are also in queue to get visits, but you have to really like Notre Dame's chances in this one. Irish defensive chief Bob Diaco is personally recruiting Muhammad.

2. Mackensie Alexander, CB

Alexander is a 5'11", 175-pound CB from Florida who doesn't seem to like giving much information regarding his recruitment. But, he gave Scout.com a scoop recently when he said that Notre Dame is his leader for now.

Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Nebraska, Clemson and Boise State are in the race too. Though, the tradition, great academics and the coaching staff of the Irish program all appeal to athletic and confident Alexander

1. Priest Willis, DB

Willis would be a huge get for Notre Dame because of his rare size and athleticism for a DB. At 6'2", 190 pounds, he looks like a safety but has the hips, athleticism, speed and cover ability of a cornerback.

In fact, Willis can shockingly excel as a slot/nickel corner in certain packages, which is rare because most cover men of that type are smaller in stature.

The Arizona native has been pretty open in his recruitment, but I believe schools like LSU, Michigan, USC, Notre Dame and Nebraska could be standouts.

Scout.com shows that a trip to South Bend will take place September 21st.

Edwin Weathersby has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena League. He spent a year evaluating prep prospects & writing specific recruiting and scouting content articles for Student Sports Football (now ESPN Rise-HS). A syndicated scout and writer, he's also contributed to WeAreSC.com, GatorBait.net and Diamonds in the Rough Inc., a College Football and NFL Draft magazine.