Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly Opens Up on 2015 Recruiting Class
Throughout the recruiting process, a head football coach has to walk a tight rope when discussing the players he is chasing. While cryptic tweets and overly generic coachspeak is usually the best you can hope for, on Wednesday Brian Kelly—and every other college football coach in America—opened up about the recruits joining their program.
For Kelly, signing day was a culmination of two years of work. And while most experts have already had their say on the 24 student-athletes joining the Notre Dame football program, let's look at what the Irish head coach had to say about the players joining his program.
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The Offensive Line
With Jerry Tillery beginning his career on defense, Harry Hiestand only brought in two offensive linemen this cycle. But the staff likes both of them, starting with early enrollee, and No.1-ranked center, Tristen Hoge.
After recruiting mostly high school tackles and transitioning them to other positions, Kelly talked about Hoge's advanced knowledge at the position and how it could pay dividends.
"What separates Tristen for us is a true center," Kelly said on Wednesday. "In the college game, you're going a lot more of reading fronts, shotgun snapping, having to really take on much more of the identification of fronts, coverages, and it requires somebody that maybe didn't play that position in high school. Tristen's already done that."
Joining Hoge up front is Trevor Ruhland. A very early commit to the Irish, Ruhland's toughness stood out for Kelly.
"What we really loved about Trevor is his toughness. Two‑way player, he never came off the field, and we were looking for an interior guy that really fit our style of play," Kelly said.
The Quarterback
Brandon Wimbush deserves his only section. Because after losing coveted 5-star target Blake Barnett, Notre Dame's staff found a quarterback who might be an even better fit for the Irish offense.
Kelly conceded that after Barnett flipped to Alabama, he was willing to go without a quarterback in this cycle. But seeing Wimbush's senior film changed all that, and the Irish staff did a great job flipping the quarterback from Penn State.
"As a quarterback you have to have a presence...and he has an incredible presence and a leadership presence about him where he makes others around him better," Kelly said. "He lights up the room. He's a thermometer guy. The temperature in the room rises when he's in it because he has such a great presence about him."
The Skill Players
With only Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston on the scholarship roster, Notre Dame's staff was committed to landing two running backs. They found their first early in Josh Adams. Their second took some time, with Dexter Williams pledging to the Irish on signing day.
In Adams, the Irish staff showed patience, recruiting Adams even after suffering an ACL tear during his junior season. But the Pennsylvania native rebounded in 2014, and Kelly believes the best is yet to come.
"[Adams] has not even tapped what he can do at the position," Kelly said. "He has not played a lot of football. And at 6'2", 210 pounds, we think he can be, with the speed that he possesses, we think he can be whatever he wants to be."
Williams addition was a key to signing day. And after a hard-fought battle with Miami, Kelly praised both Williams' football skills, but also the trust his parents were showing in Notre Dame's coaching staff.
"We love his family, his mom and dad were extremely supportive of him leaving Florida and coming up here," Kelly said. He knows that his experience at Notre Dame is going to benefit him greatly, not only in the short term but in the long term."
Notre Dame's four wide receivers add to the healthiest position group on the roster. The Irish added length with Miles Boykin and Equanimeous St. Brown and speed and quickness in Jalen Guyton and C.J. Sanders.
Boykin profiles as an outside receiver, a player Kelly thinks will challenge defenders with his size and power.
"[Boykin] can use his body extremely well. Great catching radius. Can go up with the football. He can separate," Kelly said. "We just think that he gives you a great match up on the perimeter."
While most recruiting services only saw Guyton as a 3-star prospect, the Irish staff saw things differently. And it's likely because of the insane production (82 catches, 1,770 yards and 22 touchdowns) Guyton had as a senior for the powerhouse Allen program, the Texas 6A state champions.
"Jalen had an incredible season in terms of numbers, off the charts," Kelly said. "He was the go‑to guy, playing at the highest competition in the State of Texas. Just a breakout year."
In C.J. Sanders, Notre Dame restocked the slot receiver position. After moving a converted safety (C.J. Prosise) and a former running back (Amir Carlisle) to the position, Sanders fits the mold at the position, with elite speed he showcased last offseason at Nike's The Opening.
"He's a guy that can open up the game for you with one missed tackle, because you won't be able to catch him," Kelly said of Sanders. "Elite speed and a true slot receiver, one that we haven't had since Robby Toma."
St. Brown's commitment on signing day was the final piece of the puzzle. After a trilingual performance on ESPN, St. Brown adds another receiver who will challenge defenders with his length.
"Another very rangy wide receiver who can run," Kelly said. "He can get in and out of his break, another match‑up guy that I think you're going to have problems with now."
While all four wide receivers have promise, tight end Alize Jones might step onto campus and battle for a starting job. Flipped from UCLA and joining his Bishop Gorman teammate, Nicco Fertitta, in South Bend, Kelly couldn't contain his excitement for Jones.
"We've been recruiting him since his sophomore year. We think he's the finest tight end in the country," Kelly said. "We think that we've had some great tight ends here, and we think he's going to be another one of the great tight ends that have played here at Notre Dame."
The Defensive Line
Notre Dame needed to add reinforcements up front after seeing injuries decimate the depth chart on the defensive line. They did that, adding Micah Dew-Treadway, Elijah Taylor, Brandon Tiassum, Jerry Tillery and Bo Wallace to Mike Elston's position group.
Dew-Treadway and Tillery are early enrollees. Kelly praised Dew-Treadway's quickness and thinks he'll add some pass-rush skills as a defensive tackle.
"What really attracted us early on was his pass rush ability for his size," Kelly said. "Even though he projects as somebody that may play inside, he has the ability to pass rush even from an inside position and that's a unique quality for a guy 6'5", 280 pounds."
Tillery was expected to be an offensive lineman. But the 6'6", 310-pounder will start his career at defensive tackle, adding length, size and athleticism that has Kelly believing Tillery will contribute early and become a dominant defensive lineman.
"Jerry possesses some skill sets that most defensive tackles don't have," Kelly said. "So we decided to make the move and play him on the defensive line, and we think that we've got a potentially dominating defensive lineman."
In Taylor, the Irish landed a Cincinnati product who they think can do great things as a disruptive force in the middle.
"Talking to rival coaches, they said that when he was healthy, that he was not blockable," Kelly said of Taylor. "You could not block him."
Tiassum is another defensive tackle prospect and one of four Indiana natives recruited to South Bend. After impressing at Notre Dame's summer camp, the Irish coaching staff pulled the trigger on an offer to Tiassum, who committed shortly after.
"We were just really impressed with his personality, the way he played the game, and he jumped in to every drill that we had," Kelly said. "Brandon showed us all the things that we were looking for when we had him up here in camp and really feel in love with him."
While Dew-Treadway, Taylor, Tiassum and Tillery are tackle prospects, Wallace is a pass-rusher. And Kelly thinks the New Orleans native is a very good one.
"We were looking for a flat‑out pass-rusher, and we found one in Bo Wallace," Kelly said. "He can come off the edge and pass rush. He's going to have to put on some weight right now but we'll get him in here in June and coach [Paul] Longo and his staff can work with him."
The Linebackers
It might be hard to find a more athletic group of linebackers than the trio Notre Dame signed. Josh Barajas, Asmar Bilal and Te'von Coney all have the speed and athleticism to compete immediately.
After former defensive coordinator Bob Diaco targeted larger and longer linebackers to fit his rugged 3-4 system, this group may not have the bulk to play in the trenches yet, but they will upgrade the talent at the position from the moment they step foot on campus.
Coney is already in South Bend. After battling Florida for his signature, the 4-star linebacker has already impressed in his first few weeks working with the strength staff.
"[He] physically looks like a guy that has been in our program for a couple years," Kelly said. [Te'von] very much has the physical traits necessary to compete early on."
In-state linebackers Barajas and Bilal also impressed Kelly. Both U.S. Army All-Americans, Barajas should compete immediately at outside linebacker.
"We were looking for a guy that could potentially play on the outside and run and give us length and size, and Josh certainly can do that for us," Kelly said of Barajas.
Bilal adds even more athleticism. While 247Sports viewed him as the No. 6 inside linebacker in the class, Kelly marveled at the Indianapolis native's ability to play in space.
"In the state championship game he played free safety," Kelly said. "Again, another guy that we are excited about developing physically and watching him grow."
The Secondary
While this group will wait to find out who ends up coaching them (247Sports' Tom Loy reports that former Notre Dame All-American and Vanderbilt cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght will be hired), whomever inherits Kerry Cooks' job will be getting an excellent group of recruits.
The Irish added three cornerbacks and two safeties to the depth chart. While there are worries that Nicco Fertitta and Mykelti Williams aren't enough depth at safety, both bring a great skill set with them and both will be ready to see the field early.
Fertitta might be undersized, but pound for pound he's one of the biggest hitters in this signing class. Between highlight-reel hits and outstanding toughness, Fertitta will lead from the front.
"I was looking for somebody in this class to bring that kind of dominant competitor spirit to our defense, and Nicco brings that," Kelly said. "He's going to make an impact right away. You'll see him on every special teams. You'll see him with the energy that he brings, he's pretty infectious to a football team."
Williams was a do-everything player for Warren Central in Indianapolis, playing both offense and defense at Sheldon Day's alma mater. While the Irish coaching staff got in on him relatively late in the recruiting cycle, they believe they found a gem.
"We think that we found a young man that has all the tools," Kelly said. "He's a guy that can play the ball off the hash. He can run the alley. He can play man‑to‑man. He's smart. He's got a high football IQ. He loves to play the game."
At cornerback, Nick Coleman, Shaun Crawford and Ashton White join the secondary. Even with KeiVarae Russell expected back, restocking this position was a key objective to this recruiting class.
In Coleman, the Irish found a great football player. A standout running back for Archbishop Alter, he'll spend his time as a cover man in college, where Kelly believes he'll thrive.
"Nick played running back. We see him as an inside and outside corner for us," Kelly said. "I really like his skill set, and he'll get a chance to compete on the defensive side of the ball."
Crawford might be the most readymade defender of the group. Only 5'9", Crawford held his own at every national appearance and was one of the most coveted recruits in the Midwest. While he'll start out at cornerback, he could make an impact anywhere.
"A dynamic player as a return man. A dynamic player on offense, defense," Kelly said of Crawford.
White earned a scholarship after camping at Notre Dame this summer. The one-time Virginia Tech commit may not be the most highly rated prospect, but that won't get in his way.
"I love the way Ashton is a very confident player," Kelly said. [He] plays with a lot of confidence and believes that he's going to be the starter for us. I love that kind of attitude."
The Kicker
Notre Dame fans saw the ups and downs of a kicker last season when senior Kyle Brindza hit a midseason slump. So while not many recruiting fans know about Justin Yoon, he'll certainly have the spotlight on him once the Irish open next season against Texas.
"Somebody that will impact us probably more than maybe any one player on this roster is Justin Yoon," Kelly said. "He'll come in and start right away. We think he's the best kicker in the country."
Yoon starred at the Under Armour All-American game in Orlando in January, setting records with his accuracy and leg strength. We'll see how that carries forward moving into the 2015 season.
*All quotes obtained firsthand. All recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports. Heights and weights courtesy of Notre Dame sports information.
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