Khalid Kareem Commits to Notre Dame: Irish Get Another Reliable DE Pledge

Pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit more and more with Notre Dame and Farmington, Michigan, 4-star defensive end Khalid Kareem with every passing second.

When Kareem decommitted from Alabama on Oct. 14, he opened the door for other schools to recruit him. When his father, Ken, announced that he set his official visit to Notre Dame shortly after the decommitment, it made some scratch their heads. After all, Notre Dame was one of the finalists when he originally chose Alabama, the others being in-state schools Michigan and Michigan State.

When Kareem and his family made it to Notre Dame and took in the game atmosphere against USC, as well as the academic environment and overall student atmosphere, the mood was set for the Irish to close. Everything was in the Irish's favor—good football, good academics, steady tradition.

Consider it done Friday afternoon. Kareem announced via Twitter that he verbally committed to Notre Dame, becoming the Irish's 17th overall pledge and the top-ranked defensive pledge.

Kareem's verbal is a huge win for Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame staff. Recruited by Kelly, defensive line coach Keith Gilmore and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, Kareem chose Notre Dame over 36 other reported offers coast to coast.

At 6'4" and 260 pounds, Kareem is the nation's No. 9 strong-side defensive end and a catalyst for Harrison High School. He is looking to either duplicate or trump a junior season that included 85 tackles and 18 sacks last year. He has good size and speed off the snap. Physically, he looks the part, and he will be called upon to be a defensive leader early in his career.

Ken Kareem told 247Sports' Tom Loy that a positive visit to Notre Dame included getting a chance to know VanGorder. Notre Dame showed that Kareem was a primary target by showing up to Harrison four days after the USC game.

"He seems really straightforward," Ken Kareem told Loy about VanGorder. "He's going to push his guys and get them to the right place and get the most out of his players.

"Oddly enough, he's from our area. VanGorder went to West Bloomfield. He knows the area and knows where we are from and relates well with us."

Kareem originally committed to Alabama in June, but his pledge to Notre Dame means the Irish have reliable bookends on both sides of the defensive line. Charlotte 4-star weak-side defensive end Julian Okwara committed to Notre Dame in April. The Irish also have a defensive end pledge in Walled Lake, Michigan, 3-star Adetokunbo Ogundeji.

The good news for Notre Dame is that Kareem may be finished with official visits. Ken Kareem told Loy that the family after last week's trip had been discussing whether or not to take additional visits.

"There are a couple of schools we wanted to go to before, but we are starting to lean toward Notre Dame," Ken Kareem said on Thursday. "We didn't want to rush anything, and that's why there was no commitment or anything this weekend.

"We just want to properly evaluate everything and not rush it at all. At the same time, though, he's going to enroll early, so regarding a timetable, that would be by the end of the month."

That recruiting timetable came Friday, and Notre Dame scored another big-time defensive get. Look for Kareem to be an immediate impact player and a menace for offensive units in both rushing and passing situations.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles