Any Irish fan can remember a time, not too long ago, where the bulk of the Notre Dame community was full of both hope and horror regarding the future of the football program under new head coach Brian Kelly. While a proven winner at every step of his career,  Kelly's ability to recruit big name talent had never been tested, as the schools he had previously served were not of the caliber and prestige of a school like Notre Dame. As such, there was a common fear that the new Head Coach would be unable to bring in the kind of four and five star talent recruited by Charlie Weis. After the signing of one class and the continuing recruitment of another, have Brian Kelly's recruiting skills made a positive impression on the Notre Dame faithful thus far? More analysis after the jump.

Kelly's first test as Notre Dame Head Coach was to continue Charlie Weis's process of recruiting the class of 2010. The departure of Weis led to the quick departure of a few recruits, but the majority of the class stayed on. Kelly soon began to develop relationships with the commits who stayed and insure that they would remain with the Irish and buy into his system. Furthermore, he went on to add new players, many of whom (such as Luke Massa) had been top targets for his program at Cincinnati. While some of the new recruits (e.g. Bruce Heggie) seemed to be strange choices, the class ultimately shaped up to rank as the 14th best group in the nation (according to Rivals) with top players such as Louis Nix and T.J. Jones. While this was a far cry from the number one classes brought in by Weis, it was a reassuring sign that Kelly was not in over his head in the new job. 

Another promising sign of Kelly's recruiting prowess is the potential of the class of 2011, currently being recruited by the Irish regime. The group of commits includes a top tight end in Ben Koyack (a five star player and the number two tight end nationally according to Scout), a number of promising offensive lineman including Matt Hegarty and Conor Hanratty (son of former Irish QB Terry Hanratty and the number two offensive guard nationally according to Scout), and a myriad of talented young defensive players (such as DB Eliar Hardy). Additionally, Kelly appears lined up to add more top talent to his recruiting pile, like defensive end Aaron Lynch. If all goes according to plan, the class of 2011 should be the second of many successful recruiting groups for Coach Kelly.

The true test for Kelly will be succeeding where his predecessor failed, in turning top rated players into proven winners. Based on his track record at previous schools (where he worked with talent far inferior to the players available to him at Notre dame), it seems that Brian Kelly will be able to create a successful team out of the strong players he has brought in. Kelly's recruiting abilities thus far seem to disprove the widely held fear that he would be unable to recruit the kind of talented needed to win in the BCS. However, the question still remains, has Brian Kelly impressed in recruiting as Head Coach of Notre Dame?