Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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is that first step towards finishing off 2013." This cycle — which includes five early enrollees: offensive lineman Steve Elmer, tight end Mike Heuerman, wide receivers James Onwualu and Corey Robinson, and quarterback Malik Zaire — delivered building blocks in the form of five offensive linemen, four defensive backs, four wide receivers, a quarterback, two tight ends, three defensive linemen, a trio of linebackers and two running backs. The class, compiled from 15 states (and Washington, D.C.), is headlined by five-star outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, a product of Bishop Luers High in Fort Wayne, Ind., who is rated the No. 5 overall prospect in the country by 247Sports, and five-star defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes, the nation's No. 6 overall prospect, the top player at his position in the country and the No. 2 recruit from the state of California. He signed with the Irish later in the evening on National Signing Day. The 247Sports crop also includes four-star talents such as Max Redfield, a safety from Mission Viejo, Calif.; offensive tackle Hunter Biven of Owensboro, Ky.; cornerback Cole Luke of Chandler, Ariz.; defensive end Isaac Rochell of McDonough, Ga.; running back Greg Bryant of Delray Beach, Fla.; offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey of Philadelphia; tight end Durham Smythe of Belton, Texas; cornerback Devin Butler of Washington, D.C.; and cornerback Rashad Kinlaw of Absecon, N.J. The Irish will also welcome preferred walk-on kicker John Chereson of Erie, Pa., and preferred walk-on punter Andrew Antognoli of Fresno, Calif., who opted for Notre Dame over at least two Ivy League institutions (Harvard and Cornell). "Nowhere in the country does an assistant coach have to do as much as they do at Notre Dame," Kelly said. "We're recruiting coast to coast, from Massachusetts to California. Our coaches have to be there. It's not just about a particular geographical location. It's also about getting coaches and position coaches in different areas. We're going to have 15 states represented, but we were in over 25 states. We were in many others, but we were just setting up for 2014." The last top-five finish in recruiting for Notre Dame came in 2008, when former head coach Charlie Weis nabbed tight end Kyle Rudolph, wide receiver Michael Floyd, quarterback Dayne Crist, linebackers Darius Fleming and Steve Filer, offensive linemen Trevor Robinson and Braxston Cave, and defensive linemen Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore, among others. "This class really addresses some of our depth needs across the board," Kelly added. "We played the national championship game under 85 scholarships. We did not have 85 scholarship players at that time. We had some depth issues, and I think we've addressed those depth issues across the board in year three. "We targeted in year one and two; we addressed comprehensively needs throughout the entire class in year three. That's what I'm most excited about is that now we'll have the depth in