Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Grades and Analysis for Class of 2012

Notre Dame fans may have had to endure consecutive mediocre 8-5 campaigns in South Bend these past two years, but with the way Brian Kelly has hit the recruiting trail since he's been at the helm of the Irish, fans have to be excited about the future of their team. 

After reeling in a Top-10 class in 2011, Kelly hauled in another promising-looking group of recruits yesterday on National Signing Day. 

No, the day wasn't without its disappointments, as long-time Notre Dame commit WR Deontay Greenberry shocked everyone when he switched things up and signed with Houston, but overall, the Irish have to be proud of the 16 recruits they did bring in this year. 

Here's a look at a breakdown of the top offensive and defensive recruits that are headed to South Bend.

Offensive Class: Grade: B+

The Top 5 Recruits

QB Gunner Kiel

RB William Mahone

OT Ronnie Stanley

WR Justin Ferguson

OT Mark Harrell

Losing WR Deontay Greenberry at the last second, and failing to reel in explosive WR Nelson Agholor were two tough blows for the Irish, especially at a position of need like receiver. But adding blue-chip quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel definitely helped add a much needed  face to this year's offensive class. 

Kiel arrived in South Bend with a ton of hype, but he also drew some negative backlash for his indecisiveness after surprisingly spurning LSU.

Kiel will be the defining player of this class, and if he lives up to expectations, this year's group will be remembered favorably. However, if he turns out to be a bust, it will leave a big stain on the 2012 class. 

Brian Kelly may not have been able to land a true bona fide star receiver, but he did manage to reel in two intriguing skill-position players—RB William Mahone and WR Justin Ferguson—and solidify the depth at offensive tackle with Ronnie Stanley and Mark Harrell. 

Losing Greenberry definitely hurt, there's no doubt about it, but with Kiel on board, the Irish still have a spotlight player to showcase.  

Defensive Class: A-

The Top 5 Recruits

CB Tee Shepard

DT Sheldon Day

S Elijah Shumate

DT Jarron Jones

DE/LB Romeo Okwara

CB Tee Shepard and S Elijah Shumate are the type of immediate impact players who can come in and fill immediate vacancies at cornerback and safety left by Robert Blanton, Gary Gray and Harrison Smith.

Shepard is the most important defensive recruit of this year's class, and since he's already enrolled in school, he'll be expected to come in and compete for a starting spot at corner in fall camp.

Notre Dame has been beefing up on the defensive line in recent years with 5-star recruits like Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt, and the Irish continued to add big pieces to their three-man front once again in 2012, by adding coveted defensive line recruits like Sheldon Day and Jarron Jones. 

Day and Jones are two big, powerful and athletic linemen who are versatile enough to position themselves all over the line and make their presence felt, and both of them should be used effectively in the defensive line rotation in 2012.

The Irish didn't land any standout linebackers in this year's class, but end-linebacker tweener Romeo Okwara looks like a terrific fit for Notre Dame's 3-4 system, and he could develop into a dangerous pass-rusher in the coming years.

Overall, there looks to be a solid mix of immediate impact players and future contributors with this year's defensive class.  

Overall Grade: A-

Brian Kelly would have probably liked to have brought in more than 16 recruits for this year's class, especially coveted prospects like WR's Deontay Greenberry and Nelson Agholor and DE Arik Armstead, but you can't argue with the talent that Kelly did reel in this year. 

QB Gunner Kiel is the biggest name of the bunch, obviously, but the Irish managed to get deeper at the key places they needed to add depth—offensive line, defensive line and secondary. 

Losing Greenberry at the last minute hurts—there's no hiding that fact—but if Kiel turns out to be as good as everyone thinks he can be, and if guys like DT Sheldon Day, CB Tee Shepard and S Elijah Shumate all develop into defensive playmakers as expected, this class will definitely be looked back on favorably in a few years. 

Kiel's the key name, but he isn't the only player who looks like he has a bright future awaiting him in South Bend. 

Notre Dame may have felt the sting of losing highly touted prospects like CB Ronald Darby and WR Deontay Greenberry, but Kelly has to be excited about the intriguing young talent he brought in this year.