5-Star Recruit Verbals to Notre Dame: What It Means for Brian Kelly's 2013 Class

Notre Dame is known for landing some of the top prospects in the country as it is one of the most prestigious schools you will find. But last season, it was a school that didn't exactly put together the 2012 class the way it would have liked, losing several different top prospects that made early commitments.

The 2013 class is shaping up to be much better early on, as the Irish have recently landed a 5-star recruit in linebacker Jaylon Smith. He is considered by many top recruiting sites to be the best outside linebacker in this year's class and he has a lot to bring to the table. He covers a lot of ground, can rush the passer effectively, as well as drop in coverage and is as sure a tackler as you are going to find.

We know that Smith is a great player and a solid pickup, but what exactly does this mean for the program and head coach Brian Kelly's recruiting class overall?

What It Means?

It means that Notre Dame is going to continue to be a solid defensive unit overall. While everybody gets excited over the quarterback battles and who will replace Michael Floyd, this defense is nothing to sneeze at. It's a unit that ranked 30th in the country in total yards allowed last year, racked up 30 sacks and returns seven starters this season on that side of the ball.

There is young talent all over this defense with current players such as Stephon Tuitt and Ishaq Williams. Then you have true freshmen such as Sheldon Day, Elijah Shumate and Davonte Neal arriving on campus in a couple of months. For the 2013 class, the Irish have picked up a few solid defensive players besides Smith, such as defensive end Jacob Matuska and cornerback Devin Butler.

Smith is the type of player that jumps off the screen when you watch him play and he is somebody who can start for this program from day one.

This is now the 13th early commitment that Notre Dame has landed for the 2013 recruiting class.

What Happens Next?

After Notre Dame is done celebrating a little bit, it will become business as usual as the coaching staff continues to try and land a few more top prospects. Players out there that the Irish are extremely interested in include linebacker Alex Anzalone and cornerback Vernon Hargreaves.

Both of those players are highly recruited by every top school in the country, but Notre Dame now has a new secret weapon to give them one more reason to pick South Bend.