Notre Dame Football Recruiting 2012: Freshmen Who'll Become Irish Stars

Recently, I moved Notre Dame up in my 2012 recruiting class with the late addition of Davonte Neal, so the Irish finished the 2012 cycle firmly entrenched inside the national 10 in recruiting. Continuing our series of freshmen destined to be stars, we now arrive at the incoming freshmen for Brian Kelly.

This class has a good wealth of talent, but you can make a case that it's top heavy. However, there are many jewels in this haul and players that I think will shine one day in South Bend.

Here are some incoming freshmen for Notre Dame that will be stars.

5. William Mahone and Keivarae Russell, RBs

These two really compliment each other very well. Notre Dame signed two RBs last year, but Mahone and Russell come to South Bend more heralded than last year's pair.

Mahone is a 6'0", 205-pounder with good size, run strength and speed. He can bang between the tackles, gut a defense up the middle and wear them down.

Russell is a 5'11", 170-pound speedster who can use his speed and quickness to get to the edges and tire a defense by forcing them to chase him around. 

This tandem should work hand-in-hand in a few seasons for ND.

4. Elijah Shumate, DB/OLB

Whether Shumate sticks at safety or becomes an OLB, he should be a defensive cornerstone for Notre Dame in the coming seasons. He's a great athlete who stands 6'1", 205 pounds, and his versatility should help the Irish a lot.

Shumate can play FS, SS or OLB, track the run, cover the flats, patrol the deep middle and, of course, he can play special teams. He'll the Irish in more ways than one.

3. Davonte Neal, WR/CB

Here's the newest addition to the Irish class, as Neal decided on Notre Dame late last month. He provides the Irish a potential replacement for Deontay Greenberry, should he play WR, or Ronald Darby, should be play CB.

At 5'9", 175 pounds, Neal has the speed and RAC ability to factor heavily as a WR and the loose hips and coverage ability to play corner. He'll excel wherever he lines up at.

2. Tee Shepard, CB

Shepard didn't play much football last season, but he's still regarded as one of the best 100 players in the country. He's a lanky 6'0", 175-pound DB that can double as a CB or FS.

Shepard has great game speed, foot quickness, comes out of his backpedal well, tracks the ball and has the length to high point it for picks.

He easily will be a prime starter for the Irish in a few seasons and should become one of better standouts on the team.

1. Gunner Kiel, QB

It's obvious that the future of the Irish offense, and maybe the future of the program, rests on the right arm of Gunner Kiel. The Irish went hard after Kiel, and even though he committed to two other schools before he enrolled at Notre Dame, the Irish coaches stayed on him.

The nephew of former Irish QB Blair Kiel, Gunner is a 6'4", 200-pound signal-caller with solid arm strength, good accuracy, great size, touch, solid decision-making and above average athleticism for a QB.

He's destined to be a star for Notre Dame.