Notre Dame National Signing Day 2015: 5 Takeaways from Irish's Class

Forget The Masters. National signing day is a tradition unlike any other.

Where else do football fans all around the country wake up before sunrise to track the fax machines of coveted high schoolers declaring their collegiate intentions?

Where else do 17-year-olds hold captive national TV broadcasts as they thank their family, friends, classmates and anybody else they want before putting on an ill-fitting hat?

And where else do 5-star recruits orchestrate music videos to finalize their college choice?

Only signing day.  

Sure, it may very well be the beginning of the end. But as Notre Dame fans scurried to their computers all across the country this morning, they should be celebrating the recruiting class Brian Kelly and his coaching staff put together. 

Notre Dame officially added 24 recruits to its program on Wednesday, with Kelly adding talent to a roster he's repeatedly called the deepest of his career. And without any last-minute drama, the Irish also came out on top in some head-to-head battles with the biggest programs in college football. 

Let's take a look at the five major takeaways from the 2015 recruiting class. 

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports. 

Notre Dame Won a Huge Battle for Dexter Williams

Credit: 247Sports

Notre Dame waited until Wednesday morning to find out if it'd get 4-star running back Dexter Williams. And when Williams' fax rolled into South Bend, Indiana, the Irish pulled a top running back out of Florida, even with Miami chasing hard after him. 

After a great official visit, the Irish coaching staff felt good about its chances. But for as desperate as Notre Dame was to add another back to its class to join Josh Adams, Miami felt the same way. 

The Hurricanes suffered an 11th-hour defection when 4-star back Jordan Scarlett flipped to Florida. Then the Irish landed Williams—a one-time Hurricanes commitment—solidifying Notre Dame's class while Miami missed out on one-time Irish target Jordan Cronkrite as well. 

The battle for Williams was one of the toughest the Irish had, with Notre Dame coach Tony Alford unwilling to get into a Twitter battle with Miami assistant Jorge Baez after he tweeted (and since deleted) a comparison of weather forecasts. 

But Alford did take a bit of enjoyment this afternoon, retweeting the following message that ended up being the winning sales pitch to Williams. 

"

Degrees📚🎓>Degrees☀️🌴

— Keenan Miller Bailey (@Keenan_M_Bailey) February 4, 2015"

The Irish Protected Their Home Turf

Credit: 247Sports

After treating the state of Indiana like an afterthought for much of the last decade, Notre Dame basically put a fence up and protected its home turf. The Irish signed four native Hoosiers, doing particularly well in Indianapolis.

Linebackers Josh Barajas and Asmar Bilal are the crown jewels of this group, giving the Irish two 4-star players with high-end athleticism. Barajas was a one-time Penn State commit who impressed at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, drawing some lofty comparisons to Manti Te'o, Jaylon Smith and Nyles Morgan.  

"I think he possesses a lot of the same physical traits and speeds," Kelly said during his signing day press conference. "That size and power is a unique trait." 

Indianapolis native Mykelti Williams is a key recruit at safety. At a position where the Irish still look thin, landing Williams was particularly important after missing out on Nathan Meadors, Arrington Farrar and Justin Reid on signing day. 

Semper Fidelis All-American Brandon Tiassum joins the home-state crew, adding some bulk to the defensive line. The Irish identified him early, and Tiassum committed back in June. 

In a state that doesn't always have four elite recruits, Notre Dame has had to build its roster with a wider footprint. But since Brian Kelly took over the Irish's program, Notre Dame has done a better job of keeping the good players at home, and that's certainly the case in 2015. 

"

Brian Kelly on in-state commits: “We believe that Indiana is playing great high school football.” #NotreDame

— Rachel Terlep (@eTruth_Irish) February 4, 2015"

The Irish Flexed Their Muscles on a National Level

Credit: 247Sports

It takes time and talent to go into someone else's backyard and pull out elite talent. But that's what the Irish did this recruiting cycle, flexing their muscles in some key victories over traditional powers. 

In years past, the Irish would get close to making this work only to finish as bridesmaids—or the other hat left sitting on the table. While there's certainly some of that in this cycle as well (just look at the safety spot mentioned last slide), it's worth giving credit to this staff for winning some key battles. 

We already talked about Dexter Williams. But early enrollees Te'von Coney and Jerry Tillery are two hard-fought battles that rarely end up Irish.

Coney left an offer from Florida on the table to head to South Bend in January. Tillery turned down Les Miles and left Louisiana for life in Indiana. Both will be impact players for Notre Dame. 

"

"Tevon Coney physically looks like a young man that had been in our program for a few years" - @CoachBrianKelly pic.twitter.com/x5ORMVMGho

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) February 4, 2015"

Those weren't the only big battles won. Cornerback recruit Shaun Crawford was a one-time Michigan commitment who had Urban Meyer knocking at the door. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush was a Penn State pledge but ended up Irish after Kelly decided to chase another quarterback after Blake Barnett flipped to Alabama.

Alize Jones flipped from UCLA to Notre Dame, joining teammate Nicco Fertitta in South Bend. C.J. Sanders had offers from UCLA and USC.  

"These are guys that we believe can help us win a championship," Kelly said. "That's how we recruit." 

There Are Still Some Holes That Need Filling...Including on the Coaching Staff

Credit: 247Sports

Safety Mykelti Williams

While Kelly was willing to concede there is some work still to be done on the roster, he wasn't willing to talk about Kerry Cooks' potential move to Oklahoma, according to SI.com's Thayer Evans, or any other rumors swirling. 

"We've got nine coaches today," Kelly said with a smile. 

But as Notre Dame moves forward there is still a hole to address at safety, with the Irish missing on multiple prospects who took official visits in the final weeks of recruiting. 

Kelly entertained ideas of shifting players to new positions.

"We're going to look at the potential of moving guys there," Kelly said. "There'll be some other conversations."

But for all the worries about being too thin on the back end, Kelly gave a promising update to Irish Sports Daily on safety Nicky Baratti, who will be cleared to participate this spring—though likely going non-contact. 

Still, as we enter Year 6 of Kelly's run at Notre Dame, worrying about a third-string safety as your biggest concern feels a long way from where he started. 

"It's a different class," Kelly explained. "We're starting to build some depth in the program. We want to get long at positions."  

Expect Some More Roster Moves in the Near Future

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Just because national signing day has come and gone doesn't mean the work is done. Kelly mentioned during the WatchND broadcast that he was actively pursuing some transfer candidates. He doubled down on that notion during his press conference. 

"There is some more work to be done. There is some tweaking to be done to this roster," Kelly said. "We are not done. We have a little bit more work to do and a couple of things in the works right now that are very promising that we will get done in the next two to three weeks." 

When asked if these roster additions were preferred walk-ons, Kelly clarified that he's looking to add scholarship players, citing the success of Cody Riggs' lone season in South Bend as an example.

And he also talked about the challenge of making the numbers work so the Irish start next season with 85 scholarship players. 

While the university's admissions board handles fifth-year approvals, Kelly announced reserve offensive lineman Conor Hanratty was retiring from football after a series of concussions. He also made it clear that he was going to use every day possible to get his roster in order. 

"Here's what I would tell you. We've got until the first day of classes to get to 85," Kelly said. "And we're going to need every one of those days."