Notre Dame and Derek Meadows - How Much Would Commitment Really Mean at This Time?

Notre Dame's standing with the near five-star wide receiver seems to be improving, but how much does a commitment ultimately matter right now?

Oct 28, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman calls a timeout in the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

It seems like every pair of recruiting eyes regarding Notre Dame football are locked on wide receiver Derek Meadows of Las Vegas.

The Bishop Gorman star stands 6-5, 200-pounds, and figures to be ready to see the playing field the second he steps on whichever college campus he ultimately chooses.

Meadows was set to announce his college commitment last week but decided to push it back a week to this Saturday. According to a 247Sports report, that decision seems to have meant good news for Notre Dame's chances.

But as you'll see later, there are reporters from another outlet that see it differently.

Meadows is currently set to announce his college commitment between Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia on Saturday, July 20.

Derek Meadows Commitment - Does it matter right now?

Derek Meadows is as close to being a five-star recruit as a player can be without actually having the ranking anywhere.

Notre Dame made Meadows a priority long ago and seemed to think it was in very good standing for the majority of that time.

Based on the video linked above, it certainly seems like Notre Dame has significantly upped their NIL game in its pursuit of Meadows and as a result, find themselves back in the best position of his final schools.

Perhaps its because of recent recruiting battles that ultimately ended in losses for Notre Dame, but a commitment would be nice for the current recruiting class but would it be a true commitment?

The case of Ivan Taylor, Notre Dame's top-ranked commitment in the 2025 class, who recently flipped to Michigan comes to mind.

Former five-star safety who remained committed to Notre Dame up until signing day a couple of years back only to choose Oregon before ultimately choosing Oklahoma also gets remembered.

With NIL clearly being a big part of this recruitment I'm not about to say that Notre Dame hasn't upped their game in that department, but there is plenty of time left for other programs to come back and do the same after a potential commitment.

Derek Meadows Recruiting - So Much Time Remains

The modern world of college football recruiting means that verbal and public commitments matter less than ever.

But it's also important to note that they do still matter.

For example - if Meadows announces his commitment to LSU on Saturday, which a few reporters from Rivals predicted Thursday, Notre Dame fans would certainly be down.

But would Notre Dame then be out of the running altogether? I have trouble thinking those same fans would think Notre Dame was done or that it wouldn't continue to recruit Meadows.

So by logic, it'd work the same way if Meadows announced Notre Dame and one was to view this from LSU's standpoint.

That's essentially a long-winded way of me saying the Derek Meadows commitment announcement is like a wedding invitation from a friend that you might not be entirely sold on working out.

Despite the obvious concerns about what ultimately happens, if there is going to be a party you can bet I at least want the invitation.

Or in the case of Derek Meadows, a commitment, which for the time would certainly help to quiet wide receiver recruiting concerns.

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