Notre Dame's big Monday concluded with commit from 4-star DB Derrik Allen

The Fighting Irish football recruiting Class of 2018 is on the rapid rise, with a huge Monday wrapping up with the pledge of four-star defensive back Derrik Allen.

Allen became the second four-star defensive back to choose Notre Dame on Monday alone, following Detroit Cass Tech star Kalon Gervin. Unlike Gervin, Allen is a native of the southeast and a three-year standout at Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter High, and a U.S. Army All-American. He holds a whopping 34 scholarship offers, but apparently decided that Monday was the right time to pledge his future to the Fighting Irish.

Who knows, maybe he wanted to get the Irish affiliation on the books before St. Patrick’s Day.

The commitments from Allen and Gervin, the seventh and eighth of Notre Dame’s coming recruiting class, immediately launched the Fighting Irish up the recruiting class rankings; of Notre Dame’s eight current commits, six are considered four-star recruits.

Naturally, a big recruiting class is imperative for Brian Kelley to get his program back on track after a brutal 2016 season where everything fell apart at the wrong time. Now the Irish will try to build forward while grooming a new quarterback and chasing a major recruiting class to make sure a season like 2016 doesn’t happen again anytime soon. So far so good, on the last count at least.