Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Finding a Safety Still Key to 2015 Class

When fax machines begin to hum Feb. 4, Notre Dame will celebrate an excellent recruiting class that is among the best in the country.

But the Irish still need one final piece of the puzzle: safety.

When long-time commit Prentice McKinney flipped to North Carolina, it left the Irish with just Nicco Fertitta and Mykelti Williams at the position. With fifth-year safety Eilar Hardy transferring and Nicky Baratti's career in question after another serious shoulder injury, the depth chart could desperately use one more safety to complete the class.

Notre Dame coaches remain on the hunt, looking at recruits old and new as the final days of the 2015 recruiting cycle come to a close.

Let's take a look at the best bets to end up Irish with signing day just around the corner.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand. All recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.

Justin Reid

Credit: 247Sports

Notre Dame hosted the Louisiana native last weekend, showing the 3-star prospect how he would fit with Brian VanGorder's defensive plans. With a depth chart essentially wide open in front of him, Reid could walk onto campus and immediately be in the two-deep.

The Irish will battle Stanford and hometown LSU for Reid's signature. And while Les Miles hasn't made Reid the priority that some expected considering his brother Eric was a standout for the Tigers, Stanford's proximity to the elder Reid—now a safety with the 49ers—gives the Cardinal an unexpected geographic advantage.

That being said, Notre Dame has to like its chances.

“I’m going to have to digest things from this weekend at Notre Dame. I’m going to go home, sleep on it and figure things out. I had a great time," Reid said after his final official visit, via Tom Loy of Irish 247. 

“It was a really good trip. It was way better than I expected. It was surprising to be honest. I didn’t know anything about the school, but now I have a great feel for everything.”

Arrington Farrar

Credit: 247Sports

A recruit who hasn't even decided to visit Notre Dame might seem as an unexpected candidate, but the recruitment of Arrington Farrar has been far from ordinary.

A long-time commitment to Stanford, Farrar's plans changed when an admissions snag in the past two weeks forced the Atlanta native to reopen his recruitment.

Enter Notre Dame.

While Farrar has already taken official visits to North Carolina and Wisconsin, Irish coaches put a full-court press on the talented 3-star safety with hopes of getting him on campus.

A physical product who some believe will end up a linebacker at the next level, Farrar looks like a custom-built strong safety. With Brian Kelly doing his best to open recruiting lines into Georgia, landing Farrar out of Woodward Academy could be both an immediate and long-term victory.

Will Farrar visit this weekend? It's tough to say. Because after a long-term commitment to Stanford went belly up, he has no interest turning this into a public spectacle. 

"

Media, I'll talk to you when I'm ready. Please leave my family alone.

— Arrington W. Farrar (@_CharlemagneIII) January 12, 2015"

Nathan Meadors

Credit: 247Sports

Usually the Irish coaching staff tries to get California recruits on campus before the dead of winter. But a January visit didn't take away from Nathan Meadors' experience of Notre Dame, per Tom Loy of Irish 247. 

"

It was great. It exceeded what I thought it would be. I knew it would be cold, but I thought it might be boring with not much to do. After going out and exploring it and just being on campus, it blew my mind. I had a real good time.

"

If the Irish end up pulling Meadors out of Southern California, they'll have beaten UCLA for a recruit essentially in its own backyard. That might be tough to do, with Jim Mora and the Bruins staff having Meadors on campus this weekend for his official visit to Westwood.

A multi-position athlete, Meadors takes some projecting at safety, but he has the speed and length to play center field for the Irish defense. After being hosted by fellow Californian Max Redfield, Meadors also had a chance to discuss the transition from life on the West Coast to college in South Bend. 

It appears to be a two-school race for Meadors. Notre Dame would be ecstatic to win this signing-day battle over UCLA.

Frank Buncom IV

Credit: 247Sports

Notre Dame won't have to wait long to know if Frank Buncom IV will be heading to South Bend. That's because the San Diego native will announce his college choice later this week.

Most predict Buncom ends up at Stanford. With 96 percent of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions pointing toward the Cardinal, Notre Dame is looking like a bridesmaid in this battle.

But that won't stop the Irish from making their in-home visits, with Brian Kelly and area recruiter Bob Elliott doing their best to convince Buncom to come to South Bend.

Buncom suffered a knee injury late in his season, but the injury didn't make the Irish—or many other programs—back off from their pursuit of this 4-star prospect. While he's listed as a cornerback by most recruiting services, at 6'2", 190 pounds Buncom could also be the perfect free safety.

Gary Jennings

Credit: 247Sports

Notre Dame received an official visit from Gary Jennings during the team's year-end awards banquet. The Irish also became more flexible about the position they see him playing if he ends up in South Bend.

Although Jennings has been recruited as a safety, the Irish staff opened up to the idea of letting him enter the program as a receiver—something Jennings prefers, according to Irish Illustrated.

But with a packed depth chart at receiver, if Jennings wants to see the field early at Notre Dame, he'll likely be fine with flipping back to defense if he can't work his way onto the field on offense. 

The position question might ultimately be moot, with Notre Dame fighting an uphill battle for the Virginia native. Most analysts expect Jennings to end up with the Cavaliers, per 247 Sports' Crystal Ball predictions, though an official visit last week to West Virginia have the Mountaineers in the mix, as well.

Tight ends coach Scott Booker has been the lead recruiter on Jennings. If Booker is able to pull the 3-star prospect away from schools in his backyard, Booker will have pulled off quite an accomplishment—no matter what position Jennings ends up playing.