Notre Dame Football Recruiting: A Look at the 2013 Recruiting Class

On the field Brian Kelly is looking to get his squad back into the BCS spotlight by putting together a great season. Off the field Kelly is also working to get the Irish back into the spotlight by continuing to increase the talent level. Kelly's already done a solid job in getting players in the boat in his first few seasons in South Bend. With 12 kids committed going into the summer season Kelly is working to fill some of the holes on the Fighting Irish roster going forward.

The quarterback spot has been a bit of a bugaboo for Kelly in South Bend. Andrew Hendrix, Tommy Rees, Everett Golson and Gunner Kiel have all failed to step up and separate themselves from the pack. That means more controversy going into fall camp, In 2013 Kelly looks to continue to put pressure on the competition by bringing in Malik Zaire. Zaire is an athletic, talented young quarterback that has some dual-threat abilities but plays a game that's predicated on throwing the ball downfield, not just scrambling to pick up yardage.

Players like James Onwualu, Mike Heuerman and Jacob Matuska look to be the downfield targets for whoever wins the 2013 quarterback rodeo. Onwualu is a wide receiver with some solid after-the-catch ability. In Heuerman and Matuska the Fighting Irish look to get some mismatches at the tight end position.

However, football games are won on the ground and in the trenches. Kelly is taking this to heart as he is out getting big, physical offensive linemen in the fold. Linemen are critical and Notre Dame looks to have several good ones coming into the program.

As with all things in recruiting, it is a marathon not a sprint. Kelly is going to try and add to this list of 12 by landing several more big fish. He will also have to fight off the sharks from stealing kids who are committed to the Irish as of today. In 2012 Kelly lost a big commit, Deonte Greenberry, to Houston but he also added Gunner Kiel, an LSU commit, to his haul.

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