2/5/2021 football Edit

Notre Dame Finishes With First Rivals Top-10 Class Since 2013

Mike Singer • InsideNDSports

Recruiting Insider

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly gave his famous quote back in December 2019, prior to the Camping World Bowl, stating he wanted to break out of the 15th-ranked or 10th-ranked recruiting classes to get into the “next echelon.”

In looking at Rivals’ rankings, Notre Dame was smack dab in the Nos. 11-14 range from 2014-19. The 2020 class finished No. 22 in large part to taking only 17 prospects. Had the Irish added three more with even the lowest three-star designation (5.5 recruit rank), they would have moved up to No. 16 in the country.

For the 2021 cycle, Notre Dame tied its biggest class in the Kelly era. On paper, the group is similar to the 2018 class, with both having 27 signees, a 3.44 average star ranking per recruit, and a total of 12 five- and four-star prospects. Notre Dame’s current class finished with the No. 10 spot in the Rivals rankings, while the 2018 class was No. 11.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish football head coach Brian Kelly and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian — The 27-man class is tied for the largest at Notre Dame under head coach Brian Kelly.

With the No. 10 finish, Notre Dame has its first Rivals top-10 class since the 2013 cycle in which the Irish inked four five-star prospects and 14 four-star players. Linebacker Jaylon Smith became a Butkus Award winner at Notre Dame, while the other five-stars in the class – running back Greg Bryant, safety Max Redfield and defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes – all transferred out from Notre Dame during their collegiate careers.

Notre Dame has signed five-star prospects in back-to-back classes, the first time since the 2013 and 2014 cycles.

Rivals.com’s Mike Farrell had a one-on-one interview with Kelly on National Signing Day and asked about his aforementioned comments about breaking into the next level of recruiting rankings. Kelly noted he’s been asked about those comments many times and clarified what he meant by them.

“Top five to us – we weren’t quoting what [Rivals] considers to be top five,” Kelly said. “We have our own way of determining top five. I think four out of the last five years we’ve been top 10 per Rivals, 247 and ESPN — the way you guys put it together. But we have another way because we have to factor other things into that.

“We were talking about how we factored in what we considered to be a top five recruiting class and that means getting quality talent — guys we put on the field and show that at the end of the year.

“We were able to take the talent that we recruited and finished in the top five in the AP [poll] two out of the last three years. That’s what we were really talking about relative to recruiting talent — the kind of talent that gets you the kind of teams necessary to finish in the top five as it relates to polls and things of that nature.”

Notre Dame’s recruiting rankings per Rivals may not be the best compared to other powerhouse programs, but as recruiting coordinator Brian Polian explained during his press conference on Wednesday, on-the-field results are more important.

“If you asked Coach [Kelly] … would we rather be a consistently top-five recruiting team, or a team that’s consistently in the top five of the polls — which we have been at the end of the season in two of the last three years — I think we would choose the latter,” Polian said.

Below are all of Notre Dame’s classes under Kelly, listing the amount of recruits signed, the star ranking per recruit average, and amount of five- and four-star prospects.

2021: 27 recruits, No. 10 (3.44 average, one five-star, 11 four-stars)

2020: 17 recruits, No. 22 (3.59 average, one five-star, nine four-stars)

2019: 22 recruits, No. 14 (3.55 average, 0 five-stars, 12 four-stars)

2018: 27 recruits, No. 11 (3.44 average, 0 five-stars, 12 four-stars)

2017: 21 recruits, No. 13 (3.33 average, 0 five-stars, 12 four-stars)

2016: 23 recruits, No. 13 (3.57 average, one five-star, 12 four-stars)

2015: 24 recruits, No. 11 (3.54 average, 0 five-stars, 13 four-stars)

2014: 23 recruits, No. 11 (3.52 average, one five-star, 10 four-stars)

2013: 24 recruits, No. 3 (3.92, four five-stars, 14 four-stars)

2012: 17 recruits, No. 20 (3.53 average, one five-star, eight four-stars)

2011: 23 recruits, No. 10 (3.48 average, two five-stars, eight four-stars)

2010: 23 recruits, No. 14 (3.39 average, 0 five-stars, 10 four-stars)