Honestly, do not expect much from the Irish tomorrow when the final signing period begins for the 2020 recruiting cycle. At the current moment, Brian Kelly and his staff have accepted 17 commitments for the class, all of whom signed during the early period in December. Kelly also added two transfers in former Northwestern WR Ben Skowronek and Ohio State Safety Isaiah Pryor. The luster has clearly worn off the first Wednesday in February, as the majority of prospects end their recruitment by signing in the early period.
My unofficial count has the Irish at 86 current scholarship athletes, which is one over the 85 allotted by the NCAA. Hypothetically one of the commitments could gray shirt, meaning they would delay their enrollment until the second school semester before being put on scholarship and counting towards the 2021 class. The most logical player this could happen to is long snapper Alex Peitsch, as Jonathan Doerer and Jay Bramblett are already on scholarship at the position. That would get the Irish at an even 85, although there is a possibility a player could be put on a medial waiver, also getting them down to the correct scholarship number another way.
With the 2020 class pretty much being wrapped up, this has enabled Kelly and company to go out and get a step up on the 2021 class. The Irish are off to a great start in the ’21 class, eight total commits and many of them ranked extremely high by recruiting services. So, don’t expect much from the Irish tomorrow, unless a surprise commitment happens.