Notre Dame picked up a HUGE commitment on Friday as they prepare for the annual Echoes awards banquet. Literally. Aaron Banks, a 6-7, 330 lbs offensive tackle, committed to Notre Dame earlier today over . Banks selected Notre Dame over offers from Michigan, Cal, Nebraska, UCLA, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Notre Dame needed to add another offensive lineman in this class and they landed an elite one to round out this year’s OL haul. Landing Banks was no easy task for Brian Kelly and Harry Hiestand either. The Irish lured the consensus 4-star OL from the San Cerrito, California in the heart of Pac 12 territory.
Banks visited Notre Dame during the season for the Michigan State weekend. considering the outcome his eventual commitment is all the more impressive for this staff. Throw in all of the rumors that had been swirling in South Bend following the season and credit is due to the staff.
Notre Dame now has three 4-star linemen in this class with Banks joining Josh Lugg and Robert Hainsey. A fourth lineman, Dillan Gibbons is a high 3-star tackle as well.
Banks is an early enrollment recruit and will be on campus next month to start his collegiate career. He joins TE Brock Wright, RB, CJ Holmes DB Isaiah Robertson, and Hainsey as an early enrollee. As offensive linemen, getting Banks and Hainsey both on campus early could work out well for the pair long term.
This was precisely the type of news Notre Dame desperately needed on the recruiting front as the Irish prepare for the final push in what surprisingly could be the best class of the Brian Kelly era if things go as planned over the next month and a half.
Notre Dame lost a 4-star commitment last week in Pete Werner and were still reeling a bit from the loss of 4-star defensive end Donovan Jeter. Jeter’s loss stung especially hard considering he took several shots at Brian Kelly and Notre Dame over the last couple months.
Landing an elite offensive lineman like Banks could get the Notre Dame recruiting train back on tracks. Just as Banks was committing, the Notre Dame coaching and support staff was making it’s final preparations for the biggest non-game recruiting weekend of the year.
Notre Dame is expected to host more than 10 current commitments from the class of 2017 this weekend in addition to four elite uncommitted prospects: 4-star athlete Greg Johnson, 4-star DE Joshua Paschal, and 4-star WRs Jamire Calvin and Oliver Martin. Notre Dame is on pretty solid ground with all four and there’s a chance Banks won’t be the only commitment they pick up this weekend.
As is, the addition of Banks has pushed Notre Dame to #6 in 247 Sports Composite team rankings.
Drew, please get a life. It was a tough season, nobody likes what happened. But getting Banks is huge (no pun intended) for the Irish and could lead to more recruiting success. Nobody is more skeptical of BK than me, but lets at least enjoy something positive!
Defense please , banks is a nice player , they have 6 guys like him. Why in H can’t this this program get d lineman .
4-star DE Joshua Pashcal is on campus this weekend visiting and Notre Dame is in pretty good shape.
Different mentalities between o-line and d-line. Like grades might be an issue as o-lineman are typically much smarter.
Drew white is in…
Correct, confused White and Werner. Corrected. Thanks!