The gist of the craziness that is Notre Dame recruiting was covered in Part I. Part II is strictly thoughts on whether the biggest targets left this year will sign with the Irish on Feb. 1st. Here they are–and here’s what they will do:

Nelson Agholor. No shot at perhaps the biggest playmaking receiver in the country outside of Dorial Green-Beckham. I thought he would stay in state for a good part of this recruiting season, but most pundits really feel USC (in fact, most think he has been a silent commit for a while). In the end, you can’t blame him. He is a receiver, USC always has great quarterback play, and Kiffin had proven his coaching chops as far as offense is concerned.

Ronald Darby. Curses! Darby may be the fastest player in the nation, and this would have been the first time the Irish could have laid claim to having a player with that title since the days of Rocket. It will not be however, as this kid takes track serious, and there are some schools down south that have Olympic-level track programs. FSU will be the winner here.

Brian Poole. Advanced beyond his years in technique, and a top 5 cornerback in the country. His dad prefers ND, so many feel that Brian Kelly has had a good shot with this current Florida commit. My guess is that the thought of going to ND causes Poole a few sleepless nights, but he stays with the Gators in the end. Hard to get Florida kids out of Florida.

Arik Armstead. This 5* defensive end has been the object of many a ND fan’s recruiting obsession. Another elite front 7 player. A California kid hard to pry from the West Coast. Another statement made by ND that they are playing with recruiting firepower not seen in South Bend since the very early 90’s. However, I have always felt that he truly wanted to stay in the West, and today it came out that he is considering Cal, Washington, Oregon and… Auburn? Which is west of Florida, I think. He would be at Cal if super recruiter Tosh Lupoi hadn’t left to Washington for sure. In the end, I think it still comes down to Cal and Lupoi’s new school (seriously, that guy is the Egg McMuffin of recruiters, I have never heard of an assistant having this type of impact). In the end, Lupoi’s whisperings of sweet nothings into Arik’s ear won’t be enough to take him away from the school he’s been most comfortable at all along, and he goes to Cal. No dice for the Irish.

Davonte Neal. Urban Meyer really wants him. ‘Nuff said, he’s going to OSU. Brian Kelly will have to win more on the field to win wars against coaches like Meyer when they really go after the same player. It’s too bad, ND could have used his explosiveness in the slot.

Anthony Standifer. Signed, sealed, and delivered for ND. He’s even willing to take Spanish to get to South Bend. A physical, solid corner, and good pickup, but still a condolence commit. Unfortunately, the Irish struck out on their top targets.

Ken Ekenam. A good linebacker, but not a position of great need, and at this point, Brian Kelly is just going to save a scholarship for next year–to go chase some more elites as scholarships will be limited next year (gotta stay under 85, and the last few classes have been large).

In the end, Irish recruiting ends with a whimper. Standifer helps with depth and “solid” talent, but BK couldn’t close the deal with the true playmakers to make this class great. Some think Poole is more than likely to flip, but I feel Kelly used up his magic last year. Still, two very good classes in a row, adding 5*-type studs in Shepard, Greenberry Kiel, and Jarron Jones this year. Kelly is upgrading talent significantly, but Notre Dame has been down so long, he will likely need to make/win a BCS game to show ND is back, and be able to reel in those “top 5″ recruiting classes.