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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly announced a 23-player recruiting class Wednesday and said it filled a lot of his program's needs, no matter how the Fighting Irish fare in the College Football Playoff.
"Offensive line and defensive line (were) really the immediate focus," Kelly said. "We were looking for length and athleticism on defense, and then, from an offensive standpoint, continue to build speed on the perimeter."
The class is ranked in the top 15 in the 247 Sports composite rankings.
Among the top prospects are defensive tackle Jacob Lacey (6-2, 285), defensive end NaNa Osafo-Mensah (6-4, 231), inside linebacker Osita Ekwonu (6-2, 220), offensive tackle Quinn Carroll (6-6, 295), offensive guard-center Zeke Correll (6-4, 285), Kendall Abdur-Rahman (6-1, 180) and quarterback Brendon Clark (6-2, 217). Ten recruits will be early enrollees.
"Mid-year enrollment has been very effective for us," Kelly said. "We can get them ready to play as true freshmen."
Kelly indicated the Irish have some flexibility to add more recruits in February. Brian Polian, the recruiting coordinator and special teams coach, said he likes how this class fits with others.
"One of the things that is really exciting is we're starting to stack some really good classes on top of each other," said Polian, who indicated that this class was pretty well in place before Notre Dame made its run to the Cotton Bowl semifinal Dec. 29. "This class was solidified in the summer and early fall. Winning is great but it's not as if guys were jumping to us late because we got on a little bit of a roll."
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