Top 10 Recruits Of The Brian Kelly Era

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With National Signing Day just around the corner, and the sixth Brian Kelly-signed recruiting class for Notre Dame ready to become official, I thought it would be a good time to take a small look at some of the best signings in the Kelly era.

One caveat… This “Top 10” list is broke down into the top 2 recruits (that produced) from each class. The players will be broke down by class and then they will be given their overall ranking at the end. HOLLA!

2010

• Louis Nix, Defensive Lineman
• TJ Jones, Wide Receiver

When Brian Kelly first got hired by Notre Dame in December of 2009, Kelly had already gained one recruit since the firing of Charlie Weis. In a not so common act, by a far from common person, Louis Nix committed to Notre Dame before the Irish even had a head coach in place. For Notre Dame, getting 4 star defensive lineman from Florida is a difficult venture, so this was an amazing feat. Kelly also had another good one already in the fold in WR Tai-ler Jones. Jones, a ND legacy, was committed to Stanford at one point, but then flipped to the Irish in the fall.

Both Nix and Jones became big time players for the Irish and important pieces during Notre Dame’s 2012 season which saw the Irish play for a National Title. While Nix needed his freshman year to redshirt and work his body into shape, Jones played right away and even started in 7 games in that 2010 season.

It’s always tough for a new head coach to come to a team that had struggled immensely during the previous few years and lock in a solid recruiting class, but Brian Kelly was still able to do just that. Notre Dame signed 25 guys for the #17 ranked class.

2011

• Stephon Tuitt, Defensive Lineman
• Everett Golson, Quarterback

Once Brian Kelly got a season under his belt at Notre Dame, he was able to lock in a really good recruiting class. One of the biggest reasons that this class looked so good, was that Kelly signed a large number of really good defensive lineman (some of the absolute best in the country). Stephon Tuitt was a 5 star defensive tackle from Georgia, and Notre Dame battled all comers to get the big man’s signature on National Signing Day. This episode included some commitments and decommitments with Georgia Tech (which looked similar to another player signed in this class in Aaron Lynch). Golson seemed like an easy get as he was billed as “the perfect fit” for a Brian Kelly offense, but he too was committed elsewhere. Golson was a verbal pledge to North Carolina, before he flipped to Notre Dame.

Again, both Tuitt and Golson were huge pieces to the puzzle for the 2012 season. Tuitt was an animal along the line and Golson helped lead the team on offense as he played “starter” to Tommy Rees’ “closer.”

This was somewhat of a masterful class by Brian Kelly. A lot of close calls and guys that flipped commitments and battles won against “Big State U.” This class helped prove that Brian Kelly could recruit well on the national stage. Notre Dame signed 23 players for the #9 ranked class.

2012

• KeiVarae Russell, Running Back
• Sheldon Day, Defensive Lineman

After a couple of mediocre seasons at Notre Dame, Brian Kelly really had his hands full with the incoming class of 2012. A few of the names that gave everyone headaches were Davonte Neal, Tee Shepard, Deontay Greenberry, and Gunner Kiel. It was, basically, a hot mess. Two names not on that list, are KeiVarae Russell and Sheldon Day. Russell was a dynamic athlete from a state that Notre Dame may only go into twice in a decade and he was sold on coming to ND to fill that BK “slot.” Day was a big time defensive prospect from Notre dame’s home state- but from a high school, that although had been a powerhouse in the state for sometime, had never sent a player to Notre Dame to play football.

Russell and Day made immediate impacts once they got to Notre Dame. Russell was moved from offense to cornerback in the fall, and it was clear that Sheldon Day was going to get substantial playing time along a line that included Nix, Tuitt, and Kapron Lewis-Moore. Russell ended up as a starter for every game during the title run of 2012 and earned freshman All-American honors.

A lot can be said of the 2012 class and even more for the cycle itself, but despite its low numbers and low retention rate, the class got 17 players signed and ranked #18. At the very least, this class helped change the way Brian Kelly and Notre Dame would recruit future prep players.

2013

• Jaylon Smith, Linebacker
• Tarean Folston, Running Back

What does a title run do for a recruiting class? Well, it makes it easier to get in the ears of the best prospects across the nation. Brian Kelly locked in on a lot of top prospects in 2013 and signed 4 five star prospects. Jaylon Smith was one of those five star prospects and he was from Indiana. The only problem (which actually and probably helped the Irish) was that his older brother was at Ohio State and playing for RoboRecruiter, Urban Meyer. Unlike the last five star linebacker that the Irish signed, they didn’t have to wait long for a commitment as Smith decided in the early summer. With Folston, he wasn’t the highest rated at his position in the country like Smith- he wasn’t even the highest rated running back in this Notre Dame class. Folston was a tough grab and a battle with Auburn until Signing Day.

Jaylon Smith instantly became the starterat outside linebacker and earned freshman All-American honors and followed that up with All-American honors his sophomore year. Folston, didn’t bloom as quickly. Folston played in 12 games his freshman year, and after a season with 470 yards, he became the starter at running back the next year.

Brian Kelly got burnt a little bit by the whole Eddie Vanderdoes situation, but this was still a top notch class as a lot of these players have seen meaningful playing time (and done well in the process). In all, this was the best class that Brian Kelly has signed as it ranked #5 with 24 players.

2014

• Nyles Morgan, Linebacker
• Andrew Trumbetti, Defensive Lineman

Despite a rough season (that saw a really rough offseason before it) the Irish locked up another really good recruiting class in 2014. This cycle saw a lot less drama than some of the previous years, but there also seemed to be a few more misses as well. The two best, committed to Notre Dame on the opposite side of the spectrum. Trumbetti gave his pledge to Notre Dame in the spring of 2013 and there was never any real talk of wavering. With Nyles Morgan, he waited until the HS All-Star games to decide, but by then it was almost a certainty that he would end up in South Bend.

Both Morgan and Trumbetti saw significant action for the Irish as freshman and Morgan earned freshman All-American honors after filling in for the injured Joe Schmidt who in turn was filling in for the injured Jarrett Grace (strange how these things work). Trumbetti enrolled early at ND and that time allowed him to get his body in shape to play at the college level. Trumbetti played a ton for Notre Dame and played well. He will legitimately be a large part of the defense moving forward.

This has been a solid class thus far and Notre Dame used more than a heavy handful during the 2014 season. That usage only projects to increase by a wide margin next year. Kelly hauled in 23 players that were ranked #11 overall.

Rank Them Right

To top this all off, here are the 10 mentioned players ranked:

1. Louis Nix III
2. Stephon Tuitt
3. Jaylon Smith
4. KeiVarae Russell
5. Tarean Folston
6. TJ Jones
7. Sheldon Day
8. Everett Golson
9. Nyles Morgan
10. Andrew Trumbetti

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