Notre Dame Knocked Ben Davis Visit Out of the Park. Is it Enough?

Coming into his visit to Notre Dame this weekend, Notre Dame was considered a long shot at best for the services of the 5-star linebacker.  Heading out of it Notre Dame has moved up his leaderboard, but did the Irish do enough to have a legit chance to land the signature from the Alabama legacy next month?

Here’s what Davis told Scout.com’s Jake Brown on Sunday.

“Notre Dame definitely helped themselves,” he said. “They were toward the bottom of the list but now they’re definitely in my top three. Like I said, I definitely had a great time. I learned a lot. It’s way nicer than I thought. I’ve got a whole different perspective on Notre Dame right now.”

And here’s what Davis posted to Twitter following his visit.

Had a Great visit to Notre Dame this Weekend. Truly is a special place to be. #GoIrish ?? pic.twitter.com/z864Mzmety

— Ben Davis ™️ (@bendavis_1) January 17, 2016

Davis’s review of his visit to Notre Dame, by all accounts, sounds as though there was very little that the Irish could have done that they didn’t to win over the elite linebacker.  While his statements are strong endorsements for the job of the Irish coaching staff this past weekend, having Notre Dame trailing Georgia and Alabama – as he also told Scout – immediately following his visit is generally not the best sign.  Usually Notre Dame needs to be leading following a visit to really have a solid chance.  That said, considering how much ground Notre Dame had to make up, moving into the top 3 is indeed an accomplishment and should give Notre Dame a puncher’s chance over the final few weeks.

I can heat the comments section already. “We shouldn’t celebrate having a ‘puncher’s chance’ for a recruit at this point.”  That is definitely true … unless we are talking about trying to lure a 5-star linebacker who just so happens to be a legacy Alabama recruit.  Not just any Alabama legacy either.  His father Wayne is the all-time leading tackler in Alabama history.

With a great visit this past weekend, though, the Irish have a chance and still have Brian Kelly’s in-home visit in their arsenal to try and make up more ground.

Notre Dame still has a major uphill battle on its hands for Davis and right now, the Irish would still be considered a long shot here, but they are in the race.  Should Notre Dame be able to pull of the shocker here, it would easily be the single biggest recruiting coup of the Brian Kelly era and one of the biggest in Notre Dame history.  It would also be a testament to the recruiting prowess of Autry Denson who is quickly making Notre Dame fans forget about all of the recruiting concerns we had when Tony Alford left Notre Dame for Ohio State last year.

With only a few recruits left on the board, Notre Dame can afford to give Davis a ton of attention as the Irish charge towards Signing Day as they try to overcome Georgia and Alabama for the kind of linebacker who could play from day one and follow in the footsteps of Manti Te’o and Jaylon Smith.