Notre Dame recently made some more progress in their efforts to close out the Class of 2017 strong, as wide receiver Jafar Armstrong has announced his commitment to the Irish. Jafar just took an official visit to Notre Dame this weekend, and the Notre Dame staff absolutely knocked this one out of the park. The Irish definitely put their best foot forward from the start of that weekend visit, choosing starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush to be Jafar’s host for the weekend.  Jafar, a one-time Missouri commit, ended up de-committing from the Tigers before even leaving Indiana to go back home to Kansas on Sunday.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 — 4 star (91 rating), #254 overall, #33 WR, #3 in Kansas

Rivals — 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #77 WR, #3 in Kansas

Scout — 3 star, NR overall, #107 WR, #7 in Kansas

ESPN — 3 star (76 rating), NR overall, #76 ATH, #6 in Kansas

247 Composite — 3 star (.871), #470 overall, #68 WR, #3 in Kansas

Cohort

Jafar chose the Irish over other offers from Missouri, Minnesota, Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, and others.

Highlights


Jafar’s highlights (if the embedded video doesn’t show, it can be viewed here) show an elite deep threat with good size, speed, quickness, and an ability to go up and get the ball at its highest point. Not only is Jafar a legit 6-1/205 pounds, but he was also a 2016 Kansas state champion in three different track events — winning the 4×100 relay and postings times of 10.83 seconds in the 100-meter and 22.13 seconds in the 200-meter. Jafar is also a 3x state champion in football and owns the Kansas state record for receiving touchdowns in a career with 45.

Jafar is a kid who is physically ready to contribute right now, but he’ll need some polish at the finer points of the position before seeing the field too much. This is a high-upside guy, and there is a lot to like about this pickup.

Impact

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jafar redshirt this season, but with his combination of size and speed I think it’s probably more likely he sees the field on special teams at least. With 9 scholarship wide receivers on the roster next year (including the 2017 commits and Finke) the Irish aren’t as deep at the position from a numbers standpoint as in years past, but they certainly aren’t hurting for talent there either. Regardless, I see Jafar getting onto the field as an underclassman and potentially starting on the outside in a few years.

Welcome to the Irish family, Jafar!