Irish Add 23

Signing day is here and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have closed out by all accounts a hugely successful recruiting campaign. As of this writing, the Irish signed 23 players, with Milton Knox the only remaining undecided. In the coming days, be sure to check back on this blog as I will be breaking down the recruits individually position by position, much like I did following the season with my post-season analysis articles.

From an overall perspective, this class is hugely important to the future of ND football. Coming off a disastrous season on the field, the Irish program would have been in serious trouble if recruiting had gone in the tank. Immense credit goes to Charlie Weis, Corwin Brown, Rob Ianello, and the rest of the Irish staff for holding this class together. When I look at the top classes in the nation, I don't see too many 3-9 programs putting together classes like this.

Everyone always obsesses today over who has the #1 class in the country. This matters little to me, but I recognize it is important to a large segment of fans. I am not sure the Irish have the top class in the country, but I feel very confident that this is a top 5 class. There is balance between skill position guys and bruisers, between offense and defense, and there is star power. The best part of this class, to me, however, is the chemistry they have developed with one another. It has been absolutely remarkable to see this group come together and gel like this before they have even enrolled. For a team that had obvious chemistry issues this past season, the cameraderie these guys share with one another is infectious and much needed.

In the coming days/weeks, I hope you will check back as I share my thoughts on these signees by position. Below, I have listed the names of the young men that are the future of the Irish football program. Enjoy this day, as it is a great day to be an Irish football fan.....

Blanton, Robert
Cave, Braxston
Clelland, Lane
Crist, Dayne
Cwynar, Sean
Fauria, Joseph
Filer, Steve
Fleming, Darius
Floyd, Michael
Golic Jr., Mike
Goodman, John
Gray, Jonas
Johnson, Ethan
Lewis-Moore, Kapron
McCarthy, Dan
McDonald, Anthony
Newman, Brandon
Posluszny, David
Robinson, Trevor
Rudolph, Kyle
Slaughter, Jamoris
Walker, Deion
Williams, Hafis