Notre Dame Football: Early Grades for 2017 Recruiting Class

If early success is an indication of the future, the 2017 recruiting cycle will be kind to Brian Kelly and Notre Dame football.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, the Fighting Irish hold the nation's No. 7 class with 10 committed prospects. To date, only Oklahoma and Ohio State have more than Notre Dame's seven 4-stars. A trio of 3-stars rounds out the group.

Five of the current pledges selected the program following its March junior day, so there could be another surge of verbal commitments after the Irish Invasion camp in mid-June.

Note: Notre Dame doesn't have any specialists committed right now, so while kickers are people, too, they don't have an exclusive section.

Offense

Player	Position	Position Rank	Overall Rank	Star Rating
Brock Wright	TE	No. 1	No. 69	4-Star
Joshua Lugg	OT	No. 23	No. 140	4-Star
Cole Kmet	TE	No. 3	No. 164	4-Star
Avery Davis	QB	No. 8 (DUAL)	No. 231	4-Star
Isaiah Robertson	WR	No. 33	No. 245	4-Star
Dillan Gibbons	OT	No. 42	No. 369	3-Star

Notre Dame is following a wise recruiting guideline: You can never have too many quarterbacks.

DeShone Kizer has three years of eligibility remaining, and Brandon Wimbush could be in South Bend through the 2019 season if he redshirts this year.

Still, the Irish grabbed Avery Davis out of Cedar Hill, Texas. Though the dual-threat quarterback is undersized at 5'11", he threw for 2,148 yards and 25 touchdowns while running for 873 yards and 13 scores last season.

Bleacher Report's Damon Sayles noted that Davis has a trio of top-50 receiver prospects—Charleston Rambo, Camron Buckley and Jaylon Jackson—as teammates, so expect huge numbers from Davis during the 2016 campaign.

Barring any decommitments, Davis will arrive on campus with two or three new weapons.

Top-rated tight end Brock Wright highlights the bunch, while Cole Kmet and Isaiah Robertson are the third- and fourth-best prospects from Illinois, respectively. Wright and Kmet will have at least one season to develop behind Durham Smythe and Alize Jones.

Robertson is included here because his listed position is receiver. However, Jake Brown of Scout noted that the 6'3" Robertson could switch to safety in South Bend.

Should that happen, any of several highly rated wideouts could take Robertson's place in the class. Notre Dame is pursuing Donovan Peoples-Jones, Joseph Lewis, Tyjon Lindsey, Osiris St. Brown, Devonta Smith and Hezekiah Jones.

But an offense can only reach its full potential with reliable blocking. Joshua Lugg and Dillan Gibbons are pledged to the Irish, who are targeting five of the nation's top 11 tackles: Foster Sarell, Wyatt Davis, Jedrick Wills, Andrew Thomas and Trey Smith.

Although flipping Robert Burns from Miami would put an exclamation point on the class, running back isn't a need in 2017.

The Irish must secure a few of those receivers and linemen. As long as that happens, the offensive portion of the class will be superb.

Grade: A

Defense 

Player	Position	Position Rank	Overall Rank	Star Rating
David Adams	ILB	No. 4	No. 110	4-Star
Pete Werner	OLB	No. 21	No. 268	4-Star
Kurt Hinish	DT	No. 43	No. 642	3-Star
Drew White	ILB	No. 41	No. 987	3-Star

Notre Dame has a solid defensive foundation, but the next eight months will be dedicated to reeling in stars to bolster the front seven.

Kurt Hinish is the lone commit on the defensive line, but Robert Beal, Greg Rogers, Darnell Ewell and Corey Malone-Hatcher are on the board. The Irish won't stop recruiting Maryland pledge Joshua Kaindoh or 4-star D.J. Johnson, either.

Granted, there is some concern. Notre Dame isn't a runaway favorite for any of those marquee prospects, so it either needs to build connections elsewhere or wisely pick 3-stars—like Hinish.

Linebacker provides some relief, though. Since David Adams, Pete Werner and Drew White each chose the Irish, Kelly and Co. can focus on top targets Baron Browning and Jacob Phillips.

Position coach Mike Elston has done exactly that.

According to Tom Loy of 247Sports, Phillips said Elston "was telling me how much of a priority I am for them and that although he already has some commits, he really wants me and that he hopes I'll consider them heavily."

One player the staff knows has significant interest is Keldrick Carper. Luke Thompson of the Shreveport Times noted that the 4-star athlete's favorites are Notre Dame and Georgia. Carper is one of several defensive backs with an eye on the Irish.

Notre Dame will attempt to land some combination of Thomas Graham, Deommodore Lenoir, Daniel Wright, Saiid Adebo, Chaz Ah You, Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Chevin Calloway and Amari Carter, among others.

The Irish are targeting highly ranked talents, but now it's a matter of securing verbal pledges to improve the class.

Grade: B

All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from CFBStats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.