Brian Kelly talks with the media about Notre Dame's 2010 recruiting class.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly didn’t sugarcoat things Wednesday when he offered his assessment of the 23-man recruiting class he introduced on National Signing Day.
He didn’t pretend the class was any better than the recruiting services are calling this haul – Rivals ranks the class No. 14, Scout has it No. 19 and ESPN rates it at No. 21. Nope, Kelly simply said the class was solid and it fills some short- and long-term needs, but expect a much bigger splash this time next year.
“Holding onto a class that was recruited early on by the former staff, and then adding our touches to it, make this a good class,” Kelly said. “It’s a good start for us. I think you will find a growth in the recruiting process for us next year, but I think it was a good start for us.”
Kelly and his staff faced some unique challenges both “re-recruiting” the players that verbally committed to the previous staff, while quickly building relationships to land at least six players during the home stretch. Overall, Kelly was pleased with the haul, but he said to expect a more star-studded class in the years to come.
“You need time to recruit, and you need success if you want to be able to continue to recruit the very best,” Kelly said. “Clearly we did not have either one our side this time. So the proof of our work as a staff, and ultimately how I’ll be judged, is going to be down the road with this class, but more importantly, next year’s class as well.”
The class isn’t loaded with Gatorade Players of the Year from their respective states. Only seven participated in national all-star games and only one – offensive lineman Christian Lombard – was a Parade All-American. They come from 12 different states, and by position, there are four wide receivers, three defensive backs, three defensive linemen, three linebackers, three offensive linemen, three quarterbacks, two athletes, one running back and one tight end.
Kelly's first recruiting class includes 23 players from 12 states.
Five players – defensive back Chris Badger, defensive back Spencer Boyd, wide receiver Tai-ler Jones, quarterback Tommy Rees and defensive back Lo Wood – are already enrolled at the university and will have a headstart with conditioning and spring football, an advantage Kelly believes will help all five dramatically.
“The five mid-year enrollees give them the opportunity to develop, be part of spring ball, be here in the summer and actually have an opportunity to contribute. Those five mid-year enrollees were very important for us to hold onto.”
The knock on former head coach Charlie Weis and his previous staff was that they were able to land many top offensive recruits, but finding the top defensive line recruits was always a struggle. Kelly agreed, saying that defensive line will be top priority in the 2011 recruiting cycle. The time constraints and late entry into the recruiting game kept his staff out of serious contention for any serious linemen.
“We have to continue to build our defensive line pool, especially at the end position,” said Kelly, who also hopes to find better balance at the skilled offensive positions. “That’s going to be absolutely crucial for us, moving forward for us next year. And looking at 2011, our scholarship allotment is really going to have to look toward the defensive end position. We’ve got to get bigger and stronger on the edge of our defense, more athletic on the edge of our defense. Those are two absolutely crucial needs for us moving forward after this class.”
Kelly said the recruiting system and the geographical assignments for his assistant coaches worked well. Time was the major handicap this year, and to help combat that, scholarship offers were already going out today to high school juniors.
Up next, is to groom what they got, and already start looking to this time next year, and Kelly likes his chances.
“You can go into any school in the country, any school, and they want the head coach to walk through their halls at Notre Dame. They want him to visit with the principle. They want him to be visible in their school because there is such a respect for the University of Notre Dame and I don’t know that I knew how strong that was.”
Brian Kelly mentioned after the press conference that the Michael Floyd case has been adjudicated and he is working out with the team, but that he is not allowed to comment any more on the matter.
• Kyle Rudolph did undergo shoulder surgery this winter, but Kelly is positive on all the medical issues on the team, which he says were "way too many."
• The two players not yet cleared to partake in workouts because of medical issues are sophomore running back Theo Riddick (shoulder) and junior kicker Brandon Walker (back). There has been speculation that Walker's football career might be finished, but Kelly said they will have to go a little longer to see if that is the case.
• Junior quarterback Dayne Crist is well ahead of schedule for recover and it appears he will be able to participate in everything but contact work during the spring. Quarterbacks generally are off limits to contact anyway in practice.
"Nobody will get in his zip code area," said Kelly of Crist this spring.
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