What's Left: A Look At The Top Remaining Notre Dame Targets

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On Wednesday, Notre Dame signed all 20 of its current verbal commits in the class of 2018.

With numbers in the class getting tight as head toward February's traditional signing day, the Irish coaching staff still has work to do.

There are a number of priority targets still on the board, and below you'll find a rundown of those players and where Notre Dame stands in each of their recruitments.

The Latest: Gordon is set to announce his decision Thursday night at 10:00 p.m. eastern time, and it's officially down to Notre Dame and Washington.

In the last two weeks, Gordon has taken back-to-back official visits, first to Notre Dame for the Echoes weekend then to Washington the following weekend.

The perception is the hometown Huskies are the leader, but Notre Dame has made it hard to say no to coming to South Bend.

Notre Dame would love to add Gordon to the class. Head coach Brian Kelly was adamant Wednesday that defensive back, along with offensive line, was one of the remaining positions is the class that needed to be finished up.

Adding Gordon to an already strong group of defensive back signees would be a huge win for the Irish.

Top Contenders: Notre Dame, Washington
Decision Date: Dec. 21, 10:00 p.m. eastern

The Latest: Lenzy will announce his decision on Friday at 6:00 p.m. eastern time, and is down to a final three of Notre Dame, Oregon and UCLA.

Amidst the Willie Taggart saga at Oregon, Lenzy de-committed from the Ducks and Notre Dame jumped right back in the picture, securing an official visit from Lenzy for the Echoes weekend.

Lenzy annoucned the following week that he would be committing Friday and signing early, and everything we've heard up to this point has led us to believe Notre Dame will be the pick.

Getting Lenzy back in the class would be huge for Notre Dame, giving Chip Long a third weapon at wide receiver and one that can take the top off of a defense with elite speed.

Lenzy was a guy Notre Dame targeted a long time ago, and being able to ultimately land his signature after several twists and turns would make the staff very happy.

Top Contenders: Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA
Decision Date: Dec. 22, 6:00 p.m. eastern

The Latest: Petit-Frere is a vault when it comes to his recruitment, and the people in his camp are pretty much the same. That said, Notre Dame feels confident about their chances with the elite tackle.

Petit-Frere visited South Bend for the USC game on Oct. 21, and took a trip to Michigan on Nov. 25 for the Ohio State game. Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand conducted an in-home visit with Petit-Frere visit during the first week of offseason recruiting.

Petit-Frere is an elite talent that a lot of big-time schools are after, and adding him to Notre Dame's current offensive line class would take it from decent to outstanding.

Top Contenders: Notre Dame, Alabama, Florida, Michigan
Decision Date: Undecided/National Signing Day

The Latest: A decision is not expected from St. Brown until the week of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, so Notre Dame has plenty of time to keep pushing, but USC still looks to be the team to beat for the elite talent.

Both head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Chip Long have a made a huge impression on St. Brown during his official visit and in-home visits, but it still appears St. Brown ends up with the Trojans.

Notre Dame wants at least one more receiver, and there isn't more coveted in the country than St. Brown.

Top Contenders: USC (leader), UCLA, Michigan
Decision Date: Jan. 6 (U.S. Army All-American Bowl)

The Latest: Coming into his official visit to Notre Dame on Oct. 21, Notre Dame wasn't thought of as much of a contender for Tuliaupupu, but the visit changed that. Notre Dame grabbed his attention in a big way with its 49-14 win over the Trojans, who happen to be the presumed leader for the elite linebacker.

Ohio State and USC are the biggest threats to Notre Dame here, with the Trojans likely in the top spot. However, Notre Dame is making a big push, and has already conducted an in-home visit with Tuliaupupu. A big factor at play here is the fact that Tuliaupupu is looking for a place where he would feel comfortable if football weren't in the equation, and Notre Dame has shown him enough so far to make him believe they could be that school.

Top Contenders: USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma
Decision Date: Undecided

The Latest: Boykin opted out of signing early with Maryland Wednesday, so that should at least serve as a signal that he's still mulling his decision over.

Whether or not he'll have a spot in Notre Dame's ever-tightening class likely depends on the decision Kyler Gordon makes Thursday night. That said, the Irish are free to make push for Boykin anytime between now and the traditional signing day in February.

For now, it appears Notre Dame is the only team giving Boyking pause concerning his commitment to the Terrapins.

Top Contenders: Notre Dame, Maryland
Decision Date: Undecided

The Latest: Langham made an official visit to South Bend to Echoes shortly after being offered, but Alabama, Tennessee and Florida have all entered the mix for Langham in recent weeks.

The Alabama talent is not expected to make a decision until National Signing Day in February, but if Notre Dame hopes to land his signature, they'll have to fend off a growing list of SEC programs.

Notre Dame isn't looking to take another defensive end just to take one, but the staff likes Langham enough that if he wanted to come, he'd be a sure fire take.

Top Contenders: Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Tennessee

The Latest: Keys will take a late official visit to Notre Dame on Jan. 19, his first trip to South Bend. The New Orleans talent has been high on Notre Dame for a long time now, and has a solid relationship with DelVaughn Alexander and is well aware of the benefits that a Notre Dame education would bring him.

However, if the Irish land Braden Lenzy Friday, would Keys still have a spot in the class? That likely depends how things shake out at a few other positions. The good news is, with a late visit, Notre Dame should know by the time Jan. 19 comes around if its in position to take a commitment from Keys.

Top Contenders: Houston, LSIU
Decision Date: National Signing Day

The Latest: Jones opted not to sing with the Arkansas during the early signing period, so he's still unsure of what he'll do when the time for a final decision comes.

However, just because he's kept things open for now doesn't necessarily mean he'll end up at Notre Dame. Chad Morris his and his new staff at Arkansas will be pushing hard to keep him in the fold, and pulling him out of Arkansas will certainly be challenging for the Irish.

Top Contenders: Notre Dame, Arkansas
Decision Date: Undecided

The Latest: Irvin was all set to announce his decision and sign with his school of choice this week, but a serious family emergency put those plans on hold.

Now, Irvin will wait until the traditional signing day to make a decision. There was a lot of positive buzz around the Irish this week, and if Irvin had indeed signed early, we believe it likely would have been with Notre Dame.

However, the unfortunate situation with Irvin's family makes it unclear what will happen in his recruitment going forward.

Notre Dame definitely wants another defensive back in the class, and Irvin is a top target, but things are unsure as it stands.

Top Contenders: Notre Dame, Washington, USC
Decision Date: National Signing Day

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