College Football 2011: 5 Most Important Players in Notre Dame Recruiting Class

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly knows that in order to win, he must recruit well.

The recruiting ability of he and his staff was questioned upon their arrival in South Bend.

After putting the finishing touches on the 2011 class, those critics were silenced.

The overarching goal of this past recruiting cycle was to recruit speed on the defensive line.

Mission accomplished.

Follow along as we count down the five most important players in the 2011 recruiting class.

1. Aaron Lynch

The biggest knock against Notre Dame defenses in the last decade has been the lack of a quality defensive line.

The Irish took a huge step toward fixing that problem by signing defensive end Aaron Lynch from Island Coast (Fla.) High School.

He had a change of heart during the winter months, flipping his verbal to Florida State for a few days before re-committing to the Irish.

Lynch is a physical specimen, standing at 6'6" and weighing in at 245 pounds.

He is most likely to play defensive end due to his speed coming off the edge (4.66 in the 40-yard dash)

Lynch is a game-changer. There's no other way to describe it. He can and will wreak havoc on opposing offenses for the next few seasons.

Expect to see him on the field right away this fall.

2. Ishaq Williams

Perhaps the most coveted prospect on the east coast, Ishaq Williams possesses freakish athletic ability and will be a game-changer on the defensive side of the ball.

Williams, from Abraham Lincoln High in Brooklyn, projects as a hybrid linebacker/weakside defensive end in defensive coordinator Bob Diaco's 3-4 scheme.

Ishaq is very similar to Aaron Lynch in size, being 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds.

He also has tremendous speed for a player his size, clocking in at 4.65 in the 40-yard dash.

Look for Ishaq Williams to play a similar role to that of Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers.

3. Stephon Tuitt

 Every championship-caliber defensive line has a monster at nose tackle who is capable of stuffing the run on his own.

Notre Dame was able to reel in one of those monsters in Monroe (Ga.) Area High defensive end Stephon Tuitt.

At his current age of 18, he stands a full 6'5" and weighs in at 260 pounds.

The scariest part?

He's not even close to being done growing.

With a little help from Notre Dame strength and conditioning coach Paul Longo and mother nature, Tuitt will become bigger than he already is.

Scouting services have compared him to the likes of NFL defensive linemen Marcus Stroud and Richard Seymour.

4. George Atkinson III

Many Irish fans may wonder why George Atkinson made the top five of this slideshow. 

They may want to take a look at the post-spring depth chart at the running back position.

With Cam Roberson out for the season with an ACL tear, the Irish only have two true scholarship running backs in Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray.

The Irish will need a third running back to complement Wood and Gray.

That third guy will most likely be George Atkinson from Granada High in Livermore, CA.

Atkinson was recruited by the Irish as a receiver, but head Coach Brian Kelly has stated that he is going to try Atkinson out at running back.

Atkinson will most likely be a "speed" back because of his blazing time of 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

The fact that Atkinson's natural position in high school was running back will be a huge boost for his learning process in Kelly's high-octane offense.

5. Everett Golson

Everett Golson was the only quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class.

That's not the only reason he made the top five.

In his high school career, he completed 774 of 1,234 pass attempts for 11,717 yards, 151 touchdowns, and only 26 interceptions.

Did I mention that he won two football state titles and one basketball state title?

Or that he had a 45-5 record as the starting quarterback at Myrtle Beach High?

So how is it that this kid didn't generate more buzz in recruiting circles?

His size.

He only stands 6'0" and weighs 170 pounds.

All you have to do is watch the myriad highlight videos on YouTube to put away any fear of his size being a downside.

Some are already hailing Golson as the next Michael Vick (as a quarterback, not a person).

Golson is legit.