Notre Dame 2012 Recruiting

2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Head Coach: Brian Kelly

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2011 Record: 8-5

Sep. 3 South Florida L 23-20
Sep. 10 at Michigan L 35-31
Sep. 17 Michigan State W 31-13
Sep. 24 at Pitt W 15-12
Oct. 1 at Purdue W 30-10
Oct. 8 Air Force W 59-33
Oct. 15 OPEN DATE
Oct. 22 USC L 31-17
Oct. 29 Navy W 56-14
Nov. 5 at Wake Forest W 24-17
Nov. 12 at Maryland W 45-21
Nov. 19 Boston College W 16-14
Nov. 26 at Stanford L 28-14
Champs Sports Bowl
Dec. 29 Florida State L 18-14

2010 CFN Prediction: 7-5
2010 Record: 8-5

Sept. 4 Purdue W 23-12
Sept. 11 Michigan L 28-24
Sept. 18 at Michigan St L 34-31 OT
Sept. 25 Stanford L 37-14
Oct. 2 at Boston Col. W 31-13
Oct. 9 Pitt W 23-17
Oct. 16 Western Mich W 44-20
Oct. 23 at Navy (in NJ) L 35-17
Oct. 30 Tulsa L 28-27
Nov. 6 OPEN DATE
Nov. 13 Utah W 28-3
Nov. 20 Army (in NYC) W 27-3
Nov. 27 at USC W 20-16
Sun Bowl
Dec. 31 Miami W 33-17
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class 

2012: Top 5 Notre Dame Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Gunner Kiel
6-4, 200, Scout.com 1st ranked, five-star quarterback. Kiel has the size you want in a QB, and can also move and plays with his feet. He's not necessarily a dual threat, but is a tough, effective runner and can buy time with his mobility. He is very accurate, sees the field well and makes excellent decisions. He can make the throws and get the ball into traffic. His arm strength is good, but improvement can still be made to push it to elite. Is smart and a good leader as well.

2. CB Tee Shepard
6-0, 172, Scout.com 3rd ranked, five-star cornerback. A long, rangy defensive back, Shepard has safety size and plays corner and safety for his Central team. He is excellent in coverage and has great hands. He has a fluid hip turn and does a good job of looking back for the ball. He appears to prefer to play on the perimeter rather than mixing it up near the line of scrimmage which could lead him to stick at corner on the next level. He is outstanding against the pass.

3. S Elijah Shumate
6-1, 205, Scout.com 4th ranked, four-star safety. Shumate lines up as an outside linebacker for his Don Bosco team, but he's comfortable dropping into the slot and covering during passing situations. He is a physical defender used to taking on blocks at the line of scrimmage, and he has tremendous closing speed. He has a good hip turn and projects well as a safety should he move into the defensive backfield. He's strong enough to be a small, fast outside linebacker as well.

4. DT Sheldon Day
6-2, 278, Scout.com 6th ranked, five-star defensive tackle.

5. OT Ronnie Stanley
6-6, 285, Scout.com 11th ranked, four-star offensive tackle.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... A star quarterback. Head coach Brian Kelly brought in some nice options over the years, but he didn’t get anyone like Gunner Kiel, Scout.com’s No. 1 ranked quarterback, who switched from LSU to Indiana to the Irish. The talent level is quickly improving over the last two classes with the most noticeable difference on the lines from the last two years. This year, if everything goes according to plan, the secondary will provide the biggest boost with a few nice safety prospects and corner Tee Shepard out of Fresno to soon be the team’s shutdown coverman on one side.

Team Concerns For 2012: Besides solidifying the quarterback situation, the Irish have to work on the secondary that loses Harrison Smith and all the key starters. The defensive front won’t have Ethan Johnson and Darius Fleming on the ends, but last year’s class – led by Aaron Lynch – will take care of that. There’s receiver talent to work with, but losing Michael Floyd will be a problem.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: Quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. That’s all that really matters this offseason with the choice of Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix one of the biggest keys to the 2012 campaign. The offense loses receiver Michael Floyd, but there’s good potential returning at running back and receiver with T.J. Jones a great-looking target and Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick a strong 1-2 rushing combination. However, two starters return on the line. Again, though, the season won’t go anywhere unless the quarterback play is stronger. The defense is more talented than it’s been in years, helped mostly by the shocking return of linebacker Manti Te’o for one more season, but the secondary has to undergo a wholesale change. The defensive front has the potential to be fantastic is Aaron Lynch can build off his promising true freshman season, while the emergence of OLB Ishaq Williams would be a huge help to the front seven. The awful punting game could use a bigger season out of Ben Turk, and PK David Ruffer needs to be replaced.
  
Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State 18 … Notre Dame 14
- CFN Thoughts on the Game

Florida State: The Noles were held to 1.4 yards per carry. … E.J. Manuel completed 20-of-31 passes for 249 yards and two scores. … Devonta Freeman ran 13 times for 48 yards. … Rashad Greene made five catches for 99 yards and a score, along with a brilliant catch on his back. … Punter Shawn Powell averaged 47.2 yards per punt on eight kicks with two put inside the 20. …. LB Nigel Bradham made nine tackles with a pick and two broken up passes.

Notre Dame: The Irish made five sacks. … Tommy Rees completed 16-of-27 passes for 163 yards and a score with two picks. … Cierre Wood ran 18 times for 69 yards. … TE Tyler Eifert caught six passes for 90 yards, and Michael Floyd, before getting hurt, caught five passes for 41 yards with a juggling TD catch. … Manti Te’o made 13 tackles half a sack, forced a fumble that led to a score, and broke up a pass. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Florida State rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit and used a pair of touchdown passes by E.J. Manuel and two field goals from Dustin Hopkins to slip past Notre Dame 18-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl on Thursday night.

The victory was FSU's fourth straight bowl win. FSU receiver Rashad Greene, who caught one of Manuel's touchdown passes, was named the game's MVP.

The No. 25 Seminoles started four freshman on their offensive line and gave up five sacks, but FSU's defense picked off Notre Dame quarterbacks Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix three times and also piled up four sacks of its own.

Notre Dame shuffled between Rees and Hendrix throughout the game, but both struggled to get the Irish points inside the red zone.

After some stagnant offense on both sides in the first half, FSU trailed 14-0 early in the third quarter before finding some momentum through the air.

The Seminoles closed the gap to 14-9 with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Manuel to Bert Reed to open the fourth quarter, but failed on their 2-point conversion attempt.

They took the lead just 1:32 later after Nigel Bradham intercepted a Hendrix pass inside the Notre Dame 20 to set up an 18-yard touchdown catch by Greene to make it 15-14 with just over 13 minutes to play following another failed 2-point try.

The Seminoles added their second field goal of the game a series later.

Notre Dame punted on its next touch, but pinned FSU inside its own 5 and forced a quick three-and-out.

A poor punt by the Seminoles and a face mask penalty on the return gave the Irish the ball on the FSU 28 with 3:56 to play, but Rees was picked off in the end zone with 2:48 left and FSU was able to all but run out the remaining clock.

Notre Dame took a 14-0 lead on its opening drive of the second half by capping a 9-play, 62-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Rees to Michael Floyd. Floyd fought Seminoles cornerback Greg Reid for the ball on to play, juggling it multiple times before finally getting his hands around it.

Reid stayed down on the turf after the play and left the game with concussion symptoms.

FSU bounced right back with a 77-yard kickoff return by Lamarcus Joyner, but Notre Dame's fifth sack of the night on Manuel helped force the Seminoles to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Hopkins.

Notre Dame's defense was responsible for the lone score of the first half.

The Irish forced a quick punt on FSU's opening possession of the game, and used a 41-yard return by Floyd and a series of runs by Cierre Wood to set up a first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line.

But the threat ended just a play later when Rees was picked off by Joyner in the end zone.

The Seminoles' ensuing drive lasted only one play itself, with Devonta Freeman fumbling a pass from Manuel into the hands of Notre Dame safety Zeke Motta, who then returned it 29 yards for the touchdown.

Both offenses struggled to find any traction in the opening 30 minutes.

Along with each team's turnovers, Florida State's offense gained only 104 total yards to Notre Dame's 91.

The Seminoles also failed to covert on any of their seven third-down attempts, while allowing four sacks. Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter was responsible for two of them, tying a bowl record.

FSU's special teams didn't fair too much better, coming up a yard short on a fake punt run midway through second quarter.

Nov. 26 at Stanford 28 … Notre Dame 14
CFN Analysis: Just when it seemed like the Notre Dame season couldn’t be more inconsistent, here comes the Stanford game. In a role reversal, the Irish got chance after chance after chance to take control of the game, helped by two takeaways, and the offense didn’t come through. … Tommy Rees took a major step back when he should be hitting his stride. He only completed 6-of-13 passes for 60 yards and a pick. … The ten penalties and three turnovers were way too sloppy. … Andrew Hendrix provided a spark with his legs as well as his arm – completing 11-of-24 passes for 192 yards and a score with a pick, and running 12 times for 20 yards – and now he’s in the mix to possibly start the bowl game.  

Nov. 19 at Notre Dame 16 … Boston College 14
CFN Analysis: Yuck. Just when it seems like the offense is finding its groove, it can’t move the ball. The Boston College defense is fine, but it’s hardly anything special without any pass rush to affect Tommy Rees and the passing game. Michael Floyd caught ten catches, but he couldn’t break free and didn’t get enough plays on the move. … Not only was it a tough win, but the Irish lost RB Jonas Gray for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Cierre Wood will have to be a workhorse against Stanford. … Manti Te’o came up with one of his most effective games of the year. The BC offense doesn’t have any pop, and time and again Te’o made sure the ground game wasn’t going anywhere, finishing with 12 tackles. The defensive front will have to deal with its most physical game of the year with Stanford up next. The O can’t turn the ball over – only giving it up once this week – and Rees has to be flawless.  

Nov. 12 Notre Dame 45 … Maryland 21
CFN Analysis: Notre Dame is able to blow away bad teams without a problem. Wake Forest wasn’t a bad team, needing to fight to get through last week’s game, but dominating Maryland this week. Tommy Rees was as sharp as he’s been all season long, completing 30-of-38 passes for 296 yards and two scores, and Jonas Gray tore off 136 yards and two scores. The Irish offense did whatever it wanted. … Rees spread the ball around well and kept the chains moving without any problems in one of the team’s most complete offensive performances. … No turnovers. The Irish didn’t give the Terps any chances to get into the game. … With the layup against Boston College up next, the team will take a four-game winning streak into the Stanford games. If the offense can be as balanced as it was this week, and if Rees can stay mistake-free, helped by a line that’s keeping him clean, the Irish can beat the Cardinal. 

Nov. 5 Notre Dame 24 … at Wake Forest 17
CFN Analysis: Consistency isn’t exactly the norm for the Irish this season, but this week, the poor play didn’t result in a loss. The one thing that is consistent is the turnover problem, with Tommy Rees getting picked off twice, but with its back against the wall, the Irish defense came up with two excellent stops inside its own ten. The defensive front came through with a nice game making three sacks and seven tackles for loss. Wake Forest is a good, sound team, so this might not seem like a brand-name win, but it was a better one than it looks. The Irish shouldn’t have to do more than put on their uniforms to beat Maryland and Boston College, but they’ll have to be perfect to beat Stanford, and this late in the season, they’re just not.  

Oct. 29 at Notre Dame 56 … Navy 14
CFN Analysis: Notre Dame is night-and-day more talented than Navy – it always is – but this year it showed it. This was a dominant performance by the Irish as the lines destroyed the Midshipmen lines and both sides of the ball had few problems. The run defense held the Navy ground game to just 196 yards, while the Irish offensive front blasted away for 182 yards with three scores from Jonas Gray and two from Cierre Wood. Tommy Rees was excellent, getting all day to work and connecting on 16-of-22 passes for 237 yards with a score, but because it’s Notre Dame, Rees threw a pick as one of the team’s two turnovers. After a rocky week, this was a business-like effort that was never a game, and it should continue to be smooth sailing against Wake Forest, Maryland, and Boston College before facing Stanford.  

Oct. 22 USC 31 … at Notre Dame 17
CFN Analysis: Seriously, Notre Dame, more turnovers? All three losses this year came because of bad turnovers at the worst times, and against the Trojans, the -3 turnover margin, and the lost fumble for a score in the third quarter, proved to be the main difference. The secondary’s issues stopping Robert Woods didn’t help, and the inability to run the ball was a problem, but everything stemmed from the mistakes. USC didn’t give the ball away, only committed two penalties, and hung on to the ball for an eternity, grinding out drive after drive Outside of the George Atkinson kickoff return for a score, the Irish couldn’t get anything going settling for just two field goals. The BCS hope is gone, that the record will quickly rebound with an easy stretch before the Stanford showdown. Call this yet another step in the progression for the young team, but also call this a wake-up call. The team still isn’t good enough to overcome mistakes. 

Oct. 8 at Notre Dame 59 … Air Force 33
CFN Analysis: Finally, that’s the Irish offense humming on all cylinders. There weren’t any turnovers, the six penalties as a team weren’t any big deal, and everything clicked with Tommy Rees completing 23-of-32 passes for 261 yards and four scores, while Andrew Hendrix was fantastic in relief completing all four of his throws for 33 yards and running six times for 111 yards. The defense got gouged by the Air Force running game, and allowed 565 total yards, but the offense wasn’t going to let it be a game. This was a dominant performance against a good team, and now the team gets two weeks to rest up and prepare for an interesting stretch against USC, Navy, and at Wake Forest. Unfortunately, though, the Irish might want to keep on playing as hot as it’s been over the last two games.  

Oct. 1 Notre Dame 38 ... at Purdue 10
CFN Analysis: There was an empty trip with a missed field goal early, but that was about it for the mistakes. There were eight penalties, but there weren’t any turnovers, the offense was nearly flawless, and there wasn’t any drama. The line gave Tommy Rees time, and he carved up the Purdue secondary with 254 yards and three scores, and Michael Floyd showed once again that he might be the best receiver in the nation with 12 catches for 137 yards and a score. The Irish were tight this week, and they’ll have to keep the turnovers to zero next week against a good Air Force team with enough experience to pull off the upset win.  

Sept. 24 Notre Dame 15 … Pitt 12
CFN Analysis: In many ways, Notre Dame needed a game like this just as much as it needed a blowout win over Michigan State. The offense didn’t work, Tommy Rees was awful for about 45 minutes, and Michael Floyd was kept under wraps catching just four passes, but there wasn’t any panic as Rees came through with a gut-check drive when he had to. The defense continues to be terrific, keeping Pitt’s Ray Graham to just 89 yards while not allowing too many big plays through the air. The mistakes are still a problem with eight penalties and two picks, while the defense didn’t come up with any takeaways. The only way the Irish lose to Purdue is by screwing up, and after four games, there’s no sign of the mistakes stopping.  

Sept. 17 at Notre Dame 31 ... Michigan State 13
CFN Analysis: It sounded crazy before the MSU game, but if Notre Dame had just turned it over seven times in the first two games instead of ten, it would’ve probably been 2-0. It turned it over three times instead of five against Michigan State, and that was enough to lead to a blowout win. That and a very big kickoff return from George Atkinson. Tommy Rees continues to be cool and calm, even after making mistakes, and while he might not be flashy, he moves the offense. Michael Floyd continues to make a claim to be the nation’s best receiver this season, while Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray ran extremely well against a strong defensive front. This was also Manti Te’o’s breakout game. Fine over the first few weeks, he was all over the place with 12 tackles to help keep the MSU ground game to just 29 yards. This was total domination, but if the three turnovers were cut out, it would’ve been a 30 point win 

Sept. 10 at Michigan 35 … Notre Dame 31
CFN Analysis: It might be panic time in South Bend, but really, things just aren’t that bad. The offense has been more than fine with Tommy Rees looking the part as the newly anointed starting quarterback, but the team is dead last in the nation in turnover margin. Had the giveaways been cut in half over the first two games, the Irish is 2-0. The defense really is fine – breakdowns against Denard Robinson aside – but the special teams needs work. Second-to-last in the nation in punting, the Irish are only getting 27.78 yards per kick so far. 0-2 is bad, and things could get a whole bunch worse with a red-hot Michigan State up next. The running game isn’t going to work like it did over the first two weeks, and Rees will have to be even more careful with the ball. 

Sept. 3 South Florida 23 … at Notre Dame 20
CFN Analysis: This was as un-Brian Kelly a performance as a Brian Kelly team can have. His teams are built on limiting the mistakes, completing the third down plays, and not screwing up, and the Irish turned it over five times and committed eight penalties including a few killers. Tommy Rees picked up the offense mostly by figuring out where Michael Floyd was, and the Irish almost saved the game with Floyd finishing with 12 catches for 154 yards and two scores. Call this the Opening Day jitters and it would’ve been nice to have played a cupcake just to get the timing down. The Irish handled the USF athleticism and moved the ball for 508 yards; now the screwups have to stop.  

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Offensive linemen. Can Brian Kelly recruit? With this class, the early answer is absolutely. He got some big-time talents for the defensive line with Aaron Lynch, Ishaq Williams, and Stephon Tuitt all among the top end prospects in America, while Jarett Grace was a fantastic outside linebacker prospect. Ben Koyack might be the best tight end recruit in America while WR DaVaris Daniels was a nice early pickup. The bulk of the class, though is on the offensive front with five strong tackle prospect including Matt Hegarty and Conor Hanratty, who are both good enough to potentially see time right away, and Troy Niklas a special prospect who should shine after time in the weight room.

Five Notre Dame Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. DE Aaron Lynch
6-6, 255, Scout.com’s 2nd ranked defensive end. Lynch is a big athlete at 6'5, 235 and still growing, he has prototype size for the next level. He is a competitor that plays with a good motor and possesses a quality first step. Lynch shows great lateral mobility. He is raw as a pass rusher relying on his athleticism, he needs to add some moves to arsenal. Lynch could easily play TE, he has outstanding hands, and could be a plus blocker.

2. TE Ben Koyack
6-5, 230, Scout.com’s 1st ranked tight end. Koyack has wide receiver skills on a tight end frame. He has the agility to make a cut and run by a defensive back and the size to handle linebackers and defensive ends from a blocking standpoint. He gets downfield so quickly that he will be tough for linebackers to keep up with and too big for most defensive backs. Suffice to say, he's a matchup problem in the passing game. He'll need to continue to fill out for the running game.

3. DE Ishaq Williams
6-5, 225, Scout.com’s fourth ranked defensive end. A long, rangy defensive end that is athletic enough that he could still make a home at outside linebacker, but as he fills out his frame, he has the potential to be a force off the edge as a pass rushing defensive end. Fast enough to run down backs on a sweep the other direction, and intense enough to de-cleat would be tacklers on a crack back block, Williams has a total package of skills, size, effort, speed, and nasty.

4. DE Stephon Tuitt
6-5, 252, Scout.com’s 10th ranked defensive end. Tuitt is a big athlete with great range and speed off the edge. He is raw in technique and needs to add strength to play better against the run, but he has a very high ceiling. His size, athleticism, and versatility make him a top recruit in 2011. He makes a lot of plays now off raw ability, but once he is coached up, watch out.

5. PK Kyle Brindza
6-2, 195, Scout.com’s 1st ranked kicker. Has made 42/45 extra points in his career and 12/14 field goals with a long of 46 yards. Has made All-Conference three years, All West regional team, All Area, All observer, All Ann Arbor News, All State-Michigan. Set Michigan state high school record with 19 made field goals as a senior in 2010, including six of nine from 50 yards or more . . . averaged 43.2 yards per punt and 60 of 63 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks in 2010 while handling kicking and punting duties.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

George Atkinson III Skill/WR 6-2 190 Livermore, Calif. (Granada)
Josh Atkinson Skill/DB 6-0 185 Livermore, Calif. (Granada)
Kyle Brindza Specialist/K/P 6-1 219 Canton, Mich. (Plymouth)
Jalen Brown Skill/DB 6-1 180 Irving, Texas (MacArthur)
Brad Carrico Power/DL 6-5.5 287 Dublin, Ohio (Coffman)
Ben Councell Big Skill/LB 6-5 220 Asheville, N.C. (A.C. Reynolds)
DaVaris Daniels Skill/WR 6-2 175 Vernon Hills, Ill. (Vernon Hills)
Matthias Farley Skill/DB 6-0 194 Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Christian)
Everett Golson Skill/QB 6-0 170 Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Myrtle Beach)
Jarrett Grace Big Skill/LB 6-3 235 Cincinnati, Ohio (Colerain)
Conor Hanratty Power/OL 6-4 295 New Canaan, Conn. (New Canaan)
Eilar Hardy Skill/DB 6-0 172 Reynoldsburg, Ohio (Pickerington)
Matt Hegarty Power/OL 6-5 280 Aztec, N.M. (Aztec)
Chase Hounshell Power/DL 6-5 255 Kirtland, Ohio (Lake Catholic)
Ben Koyack Big Skill/TE 6-5 242 Oil City, Pa. (Oil City)
Aaron Lynch Power/DL 6-6 240 Cape Coral, Fla. (Island Coast)
Nick Martin Power/OL 6-4 270 Indianapolis, Ind. (Bishop Chatard)
Cam McDaniel Skill/RB 5-10 192 Coppell, Texas (Coppell)
Troy Niklas Big Skill/TE/DL 6-7 240 Fullerton, Calif. (Servite)
Anthony Rabasa Big Skill/LB 6-3.5 233 Miami, Fla. (Columbus)
Tony Springmann Power/DL 6-6 275 Fort Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Dwenger)
Stephon Tuitt Power/DL 6-5 270 Monroe, Ga. (Monroe)
Ishaq Williams Big Skill/LB 6-5 242 Brooklyn, N.Y. (Lincoln)