Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/109499
The guys we got late, I think winning definitely had something to do with that." Kelly's third recruiting effort — he and his assistants were at the controls from start to finish (2010 was more of holding on to what the previous regime had already collected) — was more about bringing in guys to compete for spots rather than selling them on playing right away in order to serve as temporary patches. "One thing that we do a very good job is that we play a lot of guys, and we don't just say there's 11 guys," Kelly said. "As you saw this year, we played a lot of guys. But I will tell you this — we're also going to put the best 11 on the field. And if [senior-to-be outside linebacker] Danny Spond is one of the best 11, he's playing. If [incoming freshman] Jaylon Smith is the best 11, he's playing. We recognize the fact that everybody has a value to what we're doing, but we're also going to play the best players." Other elite programs have no problem, despite having loads of talent at key positions, in enticing 2 2013 Recruiting: By The Numbers Notre Dame players who have older brothers playing at Ohio State. Tight end Mike Heuerman's brother Jeff will be a junior tight end in 2013 with the Buckeyes (nine career catches for 119 yards and one score), while outside linebacker Jaylon Smith's brother Rod is a running back for head coach Urban Meyer (61 career carries for 331 yards and three touchdowns). Jaylon Smith is also the second straight Indiana "Mr. Football" to sign with the Fighting Irish, joining quarterback Gunner Kiel. 3.4 Notre Dame's cumulative recruiting ranking in 2013 from the top-five most noted recruiting outlets: 247Sports, ESPNU, Tom Lemming/MaxPreps, Rivals.com and Scout.com. None rated the Fighting Irish higher than No. 3, and none lower than No. 4. It was a significant improvement from last year's 16.8 average, with ESPNU the highest at No. 10 and Rivals.com the lowest at 22. (Note: That average rating included departed cornerback Tee Shepard but not receiver Davonte' Neal.) 4 5 Straight years that a quarterback is an early enrollee at Notre Dame. Malik Zaire joins Tommy Rees (2010), Everett Golson (2011) and Gunner Kiel (2012). Jimmy Clausen in 2007 was the first. Early enrollees for the spring semester, matching the most at the school (in 2010 and 2011) since the policy first began at Notre Dame in 2006 with running back James Aldridge, offensive lineman Chris Stewart and wide receiver George West. The quintet this year features quarterback Malik Zaire, wide receivers James Onwualu and Corey Robinson, tight end Mike Heuerman and offensive lineman Steve Elmer. 6 Players who switched verbal commitments from other schools to Notre Dame: running back Greg Bryant (Oklahoma), wide receiver William Fuller (Penn State), linebacker Doug Randolph (Stanford), safety Max Redfield (USC), tight end Durham Smythe (Texas) and defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes (USC). The Notre Dame record is eight in 2010, highlighted by Louis Nix III (Miami). 6-5½, 291 The collective size of Notre Dame's five offensive line recruits: Hunter Bivin, Steve Elmer, Mike McGlinchy, Colin McGovern and John Montelus. To give you an idea of how much the game has "grown,"