Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Irish Primed to Surprise on National Signing Day

National Signing Day is just over the horizon, leaving little time for Irish eyes to prepare their most radiant smiles.

It's bound to be a great day, indeed, for Notre Dame football. Brian Kelly has already collected commitments from 17 high school recruits, including four players listed as 5-star prospects by Scout.com—quarterback Gunner Kiel, cornerback Tee Shepard, defensive tackle Sheldon Day and wide receiver Deontay Greenberry.

That haul currently ranks as the eighth-best in the land for the class of 2012, putting the Irish on pace to at least meet last year's eighth-place finish in the team rankings.

With eight scholarships still available under the NCAA yearly limit, Notre Dame appears entirely likely to rise at least another spot or two, within range of the likes of LSU, Florida and Miami. The Irish are still in on a number of high-profile prospects, including 5-star offensive tackles Kyle Murphy and Jordan Diamond, 5-star corner Ronald Darby and 4-star safeties Nelson Agholor and Demetrious Cox.

Of course, as with any recruiting class, it's not as though all, or even most, of the incoming recruits are bound to make an impact right away. Many figure to redshirt while others will see only occasional time on the field.

In any case, Notre Dame's slow and steady rise back to the top of college football has to continue somewhere and sometime, and what better place and time than when high school football players are signing their letters of intent? With a little bit of luck and a lot of coaching, this year's recruits may just be the ones to lead Notre Dame back to a place on the college football landscape that more closely reflects the name of the university and its outstanding reputation on the gridiron.

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