Commit Impact: What Landing Philip Riley Means For Notre Dame

1. The timing of Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale cornerback Philip Riley picking the Fighting Irish could not have been any better. Major Notre Dame running back target Will Shipley announced his commitment to Clemson at 3:06 p.m. ET, and Riley announced his pledge to the Irish at 3:44 p.m. ET. Everyone likes to move on to the next shiny toy, and Riley’s pledge to Notre Dame is huge.

2. This is a bonafide, big-time four-star prospect at a position of need. Cornerback hadn’t been a position that Notre Dame had knocked it out of the park in recently, but Riley is a highly touted prospect. He has excellent size, ball skills and competitiveness. He plays against top competition in the Tampa, Fla., area and is considered one of the best defensive backs in the state. The Rivals state rankings don’t reflect that yet because he was rated before the last update.