Gunner Kiel to Notre Dame: Top 5 Prospects Brian Kelly Has Ever Recruited

No. 1 quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel's stunning switch from LSU to Notre Dame has turned out to be one of the biggest stories of the college football offseason so far, and Kiel's arrival in South Bend now means that coach Brian Kelly will have a shiny new toy to play with this year.

Kelly pulled off a major recruiting coup, getting Kiel to join the Irish, but if you look at his recent track record on the recruiting trail, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

Although most of Kelly's high-profile recruits have yet to make a huge impact on the field at Notre Dame, with the type of talent that the coach has brought in during his short time in South Bend, it's definitely going to be interesting to see how all of the pieces fit in next season.

Whether he's bringing in big-name 5-star prospects, or diamond-in-the-rough-type of unknowns, Kelly has shown during his coaching career that he's got a great eye for talent.

Here's a look at some of the key prospects he's recruited during his career.

RB Isaiah Pead, Cincinnati

Isaiah Pead wasn't exactly a hidden treasure when he played for Eastmoor Academy in Columbus, Ohio back in 2008, as he held scholarship offers from the likes of Indiana, Maryland, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, but he wasn't exactly a hot commodity either, as most bigger schools shied away from recruiting him.

Brian Kelly saw something in the track star, though, and getting Pead to come to Cincinnati really helped boost the Bearcats offense, as he became one of the Big East's most productive backs these past two seasons, even though Kelly wasn't there to see the pinnacle of his development.

DE Aaron Lynch, Notre Dame

Brian Kelly didn’t land many 5-star prospects during his tenures at Central Michigan or Cincinnati, but he did manage to land one of the most coveted recruits of the 2011 class last year, when he got DE Aaron Lynch to sign on the dotted line with Notre Dame.

Lynch quickly proved his worth and backed up his hype, as he stepped in and became an instant impact player for the Irish defense, racking up seven tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

His exploits earned him Freshman All-American honors, and Lynch looks like he’s going to be a star for Notre Dame’s defense over the next few years.

DT Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati

Derek Wolfe's mailbox wasn't exactly overflowing with scholarship offers during his senior season at Ohio's Beaver Local High School, but Wolfe did get one very important offer from Brian Kelly and his coaching staff at Cincinnati, and it turned out to be an opportunity that Wolfe certainly didn't waste.

After showing glimpses and flashes of his potential in his first three seasons on the field, Wolfe truly took things to a different level this year, as he became one of the most dominant defensive linemen in not just the Big East, but the entire country.

Wolfe finished the 2011 season with 21.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks and he made Kelly look like a very wise man for initially taking a chance on him when not many other schools would.

LB J.K. Schaffer, Cincinnati

Derek Wolfe wasn't the only great defensive player that Brian Kelly brought in with the 2008 class at Cincinnati.

Players like DE Walter Stewart, DE Dan Giordano, DT Brandon Mills and CB Cameron Cheatham all went on to become key contributors for Cincinnati's defense, but the real star of the show was J.K. Schaffer.

Schaffer was a hometown kid, who played his high school ball at Cincinnati's La Salle High School, but wasn't highly recruited.

Although he held no other offers from BCS schools, Kelly decided to take a chance on the 2-star linebacker prospect, and the decision proved to be huge for the Bearcats, as Schaffer went on to lead the team in tackles in 2010 and 2011, finishing with 337 total tackles for his career.

QB Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan

QB Dan LeFevour was an unheralded 2-star afterthought during his final season at Benet Academy in Illinois in 2004, but he turned out to be one of the most important players that Brian Kelly has ever recruited, as LeFevour was the catalyst of Central Michigan's 10-4 season in 2006, a campaign that helped earn Kelly his gig at Cincinnati. 

Even though Kelly left after his freshman season, LeFevour went on to throw for 12,905 yards and shattered almost every major offensive record at Central Michigan by the time he was done.