This one took a lot of turns in the final days, but after being the long-time leader for four-star wide receiver Kevin Austin, Notre Dame officially received his commitment on Friday.
Austin, the No. 141 overall player in the country, chose the Irish over a final four of Duke, Tennessee and Miami.
The Coconut Creek (Fla.) North Broward Prep product is commitment No. 16 for Notre Dame in 2018 and the ninth member of the Rivals250 to join the class.
Austin is the second wide receiver in the class along with Gurnee (Ill.) Warrnen Township four-star Micah Jones, also a member of the Rivals250.
The commitment comes just under a year after Notre Dame offered Austin all the way back on August 29, 2016.
The Irish were high on the list for Austin all the way through, but a trip to South Bend on April 22 seemed to put them firmly in the driver’s seat.
“The campus is beautiful,” Austin said following the visit. “It’s a really big school for the students that go there. There’s only 8,000 students that go there, so it’s just crazy. Walking through the school and seeing the facilities, the classes and all the buildings was great.”
Austin was highly productive as a junior at North Broward Prep. On the year, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Austin caught 41 passes for 1,021 yards and 13 touchdowns and had 454 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 46 carries.
Following the season, Austin was named to the Miami Herald All-Broward Football Team and spent the offseason competing in elite prospect camps like the Rivals Five-Star Challenge and Nike Football’s The Opening Finals.
Austin’s commitment moves Notre Dame up four spots from No. 11 to a tie with Oregon at No. 7 in the 2018 class rankings with an overall point total of 1,891.
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