Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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22 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE December has to be approached as the "real" signing day. "That first year you kind of said, 'Are they going to sign on this early signing date, or are they going to default back to February, which was the origi- nal signing day?" Kelly said. "… What we found is that early sign- ing date is the de facto signing date, and I think we've learned that in year two. "All it means is that everything has kind of sped up by a few months." The one drawback Kelly sees in the early signing period in December is it coincides with bowl/College Football Playoff (CFP) preparation, plus inter- action with the NFL on certain seniors or juniors who will be turning pro or contemplating it, and other players looking to become graduate transfers. That can make roster management and concentration a little tricky, and perhaps even spread oneself too thin. "But it makes January and Feb- ruary — January in particular — a great month to get ahead, to start looking at '20s and '21s," Kelly said of already recruiting high school juniors and sophomores. "I know we're so much further along in the recruiting process than we've ever been. Having said that, it makes for a pretty crazy and intense December." PAR FOR THE COURSE, COLLECTIVELY Overall, in terms of numbers and rankings, it was a relatively typical Notre Dame haul during the 10-year Brian Kelly era. • For the seventh year in a row, the Fighting Irish signed a minimum of 21 players, with the most (27) occur- ring in 2018. The last time the Fighting Irish were under 20 was in 2012, when only 17 inked their letters of intent in Kelly's third recruiting cycle — and one of them, cornerback Tee Shepard, eventually had to leave that spring. Otherwise, the numbers have been fairly consistent: 23 in 2013 (exclud- ing California defensive lineman Ed- die Vanderdoes, who reneged after signing), 23 in 2014, 24 in 2015, 23 in 2016, 21 in 2017 and 27 last year. This year's 22 leaves the seven-year aver- age per class at 23.3. • In the five consecutive recruit- ing campaigns from 2014-18, Notre Dame's classes had a cumulative ranking between 11-13 by the "Big Three" recruiting outlets of Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN. Surprisingly, this year it actually slipped a tad, finishing No. 14 ac- cording to both Rivals and ESPN, and No. 16 by 247Sports. Finishing consistently among the top 15 over a five-year period gener- ally will put a school among the top eight to 10 overall in that span, which then brings us to … • Notre Dame continues to lag somewhat behind the first-tier super- powers over the past five years — Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma, with Georgia vying for a spot as well — when it comes to land- ing the "game-changing" figures, be they the rare five-star prospects or those ranked among the top 100. 247Sports did award Atlanta safety Kyle Hamilton a fifth star in its final rankings. Although Hamilton was not a "consen- sus" five-star selection, he, se- nior drop end Daelin Hayes (Ri- vals) and senior offensive guard Tommy Kraemer (247Sports) are the lone members of the 2019 ros- ter who received a fifth star from one of those three outlets. As for top-100 status, Ham- ilton (No. 15) and center Zeke Correll (No. 81) were the two Notre Dame representatives on 247Sports' list. In contrast, Ala- bama had 10 in the top 80 (plus 101 and 102), as did Georgia, while Oklahoma had five, Ohio State four and Clemson a sur- prisingly low two. On Rivals, Notre Dame also had two: offensive tackle Quinn Carroll (No. 68) and Hamilton (No. 75). Alabama had nine, Geor- gia eight (all in the top 55, and six in the top 35), Oklahoma six, Ohio State five and Clemson four. On ESPN — which did give the Fighting Irish an overall grade of "A-minus" — a Notre Dame player didn't even make an appear- ance until defensive tackle Jacob Lacey at No. 115, followed by Correll (No. 148) and Hamilton (No. 165). Per usual in any recruiting cycle, some positions are stronger than oth- ers. Where Notre Dame particularly excelled was on both lines — where all four offensive linemen and three of the five defensive linemen already are enrolled — safety and linebacker. The skill positions on offense re- main somewhat of a question mark when compared to the top-five pro- grams, but there should not be any reason why Notre Dame, when com- plemented by previous classes, cannot continue to be a top-10/CFP contend- ing operation as it has been for most of the past four seasons. "There will be some developmen- tal guys, guys that are going to take some time," Kelly summarized. "There are going to be some guys that are going to push for some time [as freshmen] — and then there are some guys that I think could start for us. "Every class has those guys in it. You recruit that way. Not all these guys are ready to play. "I THINK WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT EARLY SIGNING DATE IS THE DE FACTO SIGNING DATE, AND I THINK WE'VE LEARNED THAT IN YEAR TWO. ALL IT MEANS IS THAT EVERYTHING HAS KIND OF SPED UP BY A FEW MONTHS." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY St. Louis native Kyren Williams was Notre Dame's lone running back recruit in this year's class. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM