Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Why 2012 Fighting Irish Class Is a Great One

Tomorrow afternoon, Notre Dame is set to have 14 high school seniors sign their national letters of intent. If the Irish stick at 14, the overall number would be 17 for the class.

Don't assume that it will stay at 17, though.

The program has a realistic shot at landing wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Davonte Neal, as well as cornerback Brian Poole.

According to Rivals.com, Agholor is considered a 5-star prospect, while Neal and Poole are each considered 4-star players.

Should Notre Dame receive commitments from each of the three, the class would likely secure itself a top 10 ranking in most recruiting service team rankings.

Yet even if the Irish fail to bring in any of the three, the 2012 class should still be considered a great one.

Consider what Brian Kelly and his staff were able to do on the recruiting trail for the better part of the last year.

With depth at wide receiver being a glaring issue, bringing in a few receivers was crucial. The staff did just that by receiving commitments from Deontay Greenberry, Chris Brown and Justin Ferguson.

The team also needed to add depth on the defensive line, and it got just that in the form of defensive tackles Jarron Jones and Sheldon Day.

Also, with the Irish losing two starters on the offensive line, the coaches were able to reel in elite linemen Mark Harrell and Ronnie Stanley.

However, the most concerning issue about this class was adding depth to the defensive backfield. Brian Kelly was cognizant of that fact and locked up five defensive backs in Tee Shepard, John Turner, Elijah Shumate, C.J. Prosise and Nicky Baratti.

And to top it off, Kelly went out and personally recruited the nation's top-ranked quarterback, Gunner Kiel. Kelly's efforts paid off, as Kiel is currently enrolled in classes on campus.

Given Kelly's track record of being an excellent player developer, fans should be able to sleep peacefully once these players sign their names on the dotted line tomorrow afternoon.

Once that process is over, we'll transition to the class of 2013 and classes beyond.

Oh, the joys of college football recruiting.