Signees Give Kelly Hope, Optimism at ND

Due to my overlapping bowling date Wednesday with Seantrel Henderson, whose hand overlapped mine when he shook it, I was unable to listen in on University of Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly's Signing Day press conference. Thanks to the miracle of the webernet, though, I was able to peruse his comments on Thursday.

Kelly was funny and forthright, and he also used the term "University of Notre Dame" (as opposed to simply saying, "Notre Dame") 13 times. Granted, that's the school's name, or most of it: if you really wanted to be pretentious, you would say, "The University of Notre Dame du Lac."

Referring to the school by its full, more majestic moniker was no accident. In much the same way that ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski says, "National Football League" instead of "NFL," Kelly was attaching a certain prestige to his program. And that's fine.

Notre -- excuse me, the University of Notre Dame -- Dame signed 23 players to its incoming 2010 freshman class. Five of those players are already on campus, mid-year enrollees. Another 18 faxed their letters of intent on Wednesday, beginning at 7:05 a.m. with defensive end Bruce Heggie, a player who will finish in the Top 10 of his high school class academically and who is the first player in recent memory who comes to South Bend having received no other scholarship offers.

"There's always going to be some questions about recruits that don't have the pedigree," Kelly said of Heggie, "but I kind of like that. I certainly don't have the pedigree, either."

The irony in that statement is that Heggie has, in the strict sense of the term, the pedigree: his father, Bruce, Sr., played four seasons (1983-86) under Bobby Bowden at Florida State. Still, until or unless he accomplishes something on the gridiron, the 6-4, 230-pounder from Sorrento, Fla., will retain more symbolic value to followers of the school's fortunes: the type of player that Kelly, with less than two months to put together both a staff and a recruiting class, was willing to offer.

On the other hand, on the day that Kelly was hired in December, he talked about filling the roster with "RKGs." That is, the "Right Kind of Guy." The fact that Heggie has a 4.2 grade-point average makes him RKG material. If at 6-4 Heggie can fill out to become a serviceable defensive end or outside linebacker, that's a bonus.

Wednesday was a win for the Irish simply because it wasn't a loss. Defensive end Blake Lueders, who switched his commitment to Stanford less than two weeks ago, is the only desertion that will sting. Considering that the Irish have a first-year coach and have won just 16 games the past three years, the day could have been far more catastrophic. Kelly's first class, by consensus, is better than Charlie Weis' was. And you saw how much of an improvement Weis made between seasons one and two.

Kelly was tactful, acknowledging that Notre Dame needs to compete for the type of top-tier playmakers that selected Florida, Texas and USC, while being careful not to trash the players who had just committed their college careers to him.

"We've got to have time," Kelly said. "I mean, two months is not enough time to get the kind of guy that I want at the University of Notre Dame" (see?).

Then, later: "It's a good start for us. I think you'll see a growth in the recruiting process for us next year. But I think it was a good start for us."

Below, some further observations on Notre Dame's signing day, the first of the Kelly era:

Sudden Impact Award: Matt James

Much like Trevor Robinson two years ago, the 6-6, 291-pound offensive lineman from Saint Xavier in Cincinnati came on board late in the process and has the potential to be a big contributor as a freshman. James, who was torn between Ohio State and the Irish (Robinson had been a verbal commit to Nebraska), may have been swayed, as Kelly himself said, by "knowing that there was going to be a clear opportunity for him to play here earlier. I'm not saying that's the reason he chose Notre Dame ..."

But it didn't hurt.

James was the day's pleasant surprise, the one four- or five-star undecided player whom Notre Dame ostensibly had a chance of landing and actually did (as opposed to OL Seantrel Henderson, LB Christian Jones and DT J.R. Ferguson). The Irish return two starters on the offensive line in 2010: guards Robinson and Chris Stewart. Don't be surprised if James or classmate Christian Lombard (6-5, 293) are atop the depth chart next season.

Funny People

Brian Kelly is a funny guy, and not in a Joe Pesci "Do I amuse you?" sort of way. At one point he said that his aspirations were for this class to be like Notre Dame's class of 1946, which never lost a game. "That 1946 class, for all of you that were here, as most of you in here were ..." said Kelly, referring to the assembled media.

Later in the press conference, noting next year's needs on the offensive side of the ball (and more than aware of the fact that this year's class has three quarterbacks), Kelly said, "On the offensive side of the ball, we'll only take five or six more quarterbacks next year and I think we'll be all set."

Effusive Praise Award: Cameron Roberson

Outsiders would say that James, Lombard or defensive tackle Louis Nix are the most talented players in this year's class. However, if you were to judge solely by effusive praise doled out by Kelly, running back Cameron Roberson is that guy.

"If you had asked me which guy did we go out to California (for)?" Kelly said. "This is the guy that we made. We had three different coaches go out to California to make sure that we were going to keep looking at Roberson."

It was almost as if Kelly was reassuring Roberson that it was he, not Anthony Barr nor Dietrich Riley (fellow southern Californians who both wound up signing with UCLA), whom the Fighting Irish always coveted the most. Roberson's grandfather, Thomas Murray Turner ('59), was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from Notre Dame.

"Outstanding player, outstanding character kid," Kelly said. "Outstanding addition."

Top Five Frosh

The five players who, though they won't make you forget about the freshmen years Manti Te'o or Michael Floyd had, will have a chance to contribute eight months from now:

1) __________ __________: I am leaving this space open to represent the four-star defensive end who, had he signed with Notre Dame, would have had an engraved invitation to start the season-opener versus Purdue on Sept. 6. "[Defensive end] is going to be absolutely crucial for us moving forward next year," Kelly said without prompting. "We have to get bigger and stronger on the edge of our defense, more athletic on the edge of our defense."

You could almost hear Kelly pining for four-star studs Blake Lueders (Stanford) and/or J.R. Ferguson (LSU) to have a last-minute change of heart.

2) Matt James: Because if he is not the best OL in the group, he is still better suited to play tackle than Christian Lombard. The Irish have more need at tackle than guard, barring a radical Eric Olsen-to-center position change as happened a year ago.

3) Tai-ler Jones: The first verbal de-commit from Stanford in this year's Cardinal-Irish recruiting war, Jones was touted by Kelly as being "as explosive a player as there is in the country" with the ball in his hands. That is not what you call circumspect praise. With the departure of Golden Tate and the move to the spread offense, more skill position players should see the field. While my pick to join Michael Floyd in any two-receiver set will be sophomore John Goodman, expect to see Jones earn playing time in the slot and as early as any other offensive skill-position player.

Jones' father, Andre, as you probably know, was a defensive end on the 1988 championship team. What I recall about the elder Jones, who wore No. 7, is that he was built like a superhero and that he wore wire-rimmed circular specs.

4) Louis Nix: The most highly touted player in the class, but Kelly went to great lengths to stress that due to depth at the position and the move to a 3-4, the Irish have no sense of urgency with the 6-2, 320-pound defensive tackle. "He wasn't a guy that we needed to step in this year," Kelly said.

5) Chris Badger: Because he is a mid-year enrollee and because he plays a position (safety) at which the Irish are particularly thin, the 6-1, 192-pound Provo native (when is the last time the Irish took a player out of Utah?) has a chance to get on the field early.

Five Intriguing Frosh

1) Danny Spond, ATH: Like James, Spond visited Notre Dame on the final recruiting weekend and chose the Irish. A 6-3, 233-pound quarterback out of Littleton, Colo., Spond is a terrific athlete who will find a new position with the Irish.

2) Justin Utopo, LB: A 6-3, 250-pound linebacker whom Kelly said has a bad attitude. Wait, no. Kelly said that he arrives at the ball with a bad attitude. The Irish can certainly use more players like that.

3) Luke Massa, QB: The 6-5, 205-pound Massa -- yet another late commit who visited last weekend -- was a three-year starter at quarterback at one of the nation's top prep programs, Cincinnati St. Xavier (and a teammate of Matt James). Tommy Rees is a mid-year enrollee and will have an advantage at the start of fall camp, but don't be surprised if Massa is the No. 2 quarterback behind Dayne Crist when the season opens.

4) Tate Nichols, OL: A late de-commit from Stanford, Nichols has that most uncoachable of intangible gifts: size. He's 6-7, 292 pounds and Kelly has him slated to play offensive line, which means we should see at least a 25-pound gain in his future. Nichols played tight end in high school but those days are over. "His wide receiver skills?" Kelly said. "Um, he's tall. That's about it."

5) Derek Roback, ATH: Yet another late commit who, like Spond, played quarterback in high school. Also like Spond, he possesses good size (6-3, 225) and should find his way on the field eventually as a safety or wideout. "He returns punts, sweeps out the stadium after a game," Kelly said. "Whatever they needed."

Why Recruiting Will Drive You Crazy

The Irish were desperately in need of a defensive end such as four-star recruit J.R. Ferguson. In the wee hours of the morning of signing day, Ferguson's dad, Ego, told his son that if it were up to him he'd choose Notre Dame.

Ferguson selected LSU, even though on his recruiting visit he never stepped foot on campus in Baton Rouge. The Tigers were playing Tulane in New Orleans and that's as close to Baton Rouge as Ferguson ever got. Laissez bon temps rouler, y'all.

Academics ... and Addition

Kelly outlined the "six things for us" that a player must have: "One, they've got to make profile. Two, they've got to have the academics. Three, we've got to clear their medical history ... They've got to have the academics. They've got to be socially a young man that we trust. And, finally, they've got to have the right character."

Already then, Bruce Heggie possesses two of the "six" things (and he is smart enough to know that that's one-third).