Troy Pride Jr Commits to Notre Dame
Christmas came a little early for Notre Dame this year. On Christmas Eve the Irish picked up their 21st commitment in the class of 2016 when Troy Pride Jr selected Notre Dame over Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee. Pride, a four star cornerback, adds yet another elite talent to a deep and talented group of defensive backs for the Irish.
Merry Christmas?? pic.twitter.com/k0g9nF3jKX
— Troy Pride Jr. (@TroyPride18) December 24, 2015
While Pride (6’0″, 165 lbs) gave the Irish an early Christmas present, he received one as well this week with a huge boost in his rankings from 247Sports. Pride was already a 4-star prospect according to 247Sports, but he jumped all the way up to the #85 recruit overall in the latest edition of their Top247. He also jumped up to the #9 ranked cornerback after previously being ranked 262nd overall and 23rd at cornerback.
Pride had previously been committed to Virginia Tech, but opened up his recruitment following the retirement announcement of Frank Beamer during the season. Ever since then, things have been trending Notre Dame’s way even as the Irish have collected an embarrassment of riches in the secondary in this year’s class.
With the addition of Troy Pride, Notre Dame now has 7 commitments in the secondary out of their current 21 total commits. Pride joins Devin Studstill, Donte Vaughn, Spencer Perry, Jalen Elliot, Julian Love, and DJ Morgan. Where the seven end up playing position wise is still to be determined as the majority of the secondary class all have the versatility to play multiple positions. Pride, however, is destined for cornerback.
With 21 commitments, Notre Dame still has room for at least four more commitments with a lot of prospects left on the board. How those four scholarships get used could end being a game of who commits first at this point. From a position standpoint though, it would make sense that the final four spots get used at wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive line although if an elite talent like Jordan Fuller were to still want join the class the staff would certainly find room for an elite talent such as Hamlin.
Notre Dame could get some more good news next week at the Under Armour and US Army All-American Bowls with a handful of remaining prospects considering announcing their college decisions at the games. A class that started a little slow has built up a lot of steam as the Irish head into the final stretch of this year’s class and appears destined for another top 10 finish.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Imagine Troy Pride beating USC 4 straight….oh, the irony!!!
Go IRISH,
Woody
PS Merry Christmas. Thank you Troy Pride and all other ND commits.
Go after those IMG kids. We have two already. Five made All USA Today top two teams. Three are still available > LB, TE, and Athlete. They went undefeated. No. 4 Final Nat’l poll. They don’t play in a conf. They scheduled top out-of-state teams and some Fla. It’s a TOP sports academy > Tennis, Golf, Baseball. Every year we’ll be down there recruiting. Guarantee.
BVG is building his defense, looks promising.
Merry Christmas everyone:). Love this latest addition to the Irish recruiting class. Its seems like we are now loaded in the defensive secondary, at linebacker, O-line, WR’s/TE’s, Running Backs, and at QB. The D-line seems like it’ll now be the emphasis. Great job of recruiting!
GO IRISH!