Signing Day 2011: Power

(You’ll read about a dozen columns talking about the three position grouping distinctions and how Brian Kelly and his staff use them, giving Skill, Big Skill, and Power the opportunity to become this year’s RKGs as we meander into the offseason. Just remember, I started these columns before BK re-introduced it during his press conference.)

Power. A pretty easy concept to understand when you look at the characteristics of the recruits Brian Kelly and his staff added today. Consider:

Tally up the average height of every power player signed by the coaching staff, and it averages 6-foot-5. Of the players recruited by the Weis regime, here are the players that measure that tall at power positions: Trevor Robinson, Andrew Nuss, Taylor Dever, Lane Clelland, and Chris Stewart — each one of them an offensive lineman, helping to underscore just how schematically unbalanced the roster had become on the defensive side of the ball. In the power grouping that signed with the Irish today, only two players are below 6-5, Conor Hanratty and Nick Martin (both 6-4), and both of them are slated for play on the offensive line.

Height isn’t all that matters for a football prospect, but in the Irish’s 3-4 system, getting the defensive front up to size was a huge challenge for the Irish and something this recruiting class will certainly help balance.

“What we’ve added to the defensive line is guys that have the size and can push on the offensive line,” defensive line coach Mike Elston said. “We didn’t get knocked off the ball this season and now adding guys that are big enough and they’re going to be strong enough.”

We’ve already discussed a defensive line haul that’s as good as any Rivals has seen in its years of calcuating position rankings. Let’s take a look at all the Power players that signed with the Irish today:

POWER PLAYERS

Brad Carrico, DL: Carrico was the first commitment to the class of 2011 and he’s a big body that’s got the opportunity to play on either offensive or defensive line, though he’ll start on Bob Diaco’s side of the ball. Carrico committed early to the Irish, had offers from predominantly Midwestern schools and has the type of massive frame and an extra semester in Paul Longo’s strength program where he’s going to have an opportunity to contribute down the line, with his athleticism deciding whether it’s on offensive or defense.

Conor Hanratty, OL: The son of former Notre Dame All-American Terry Hanratty, the coaching staff has made it clear that Conor wasn’t offered a scholarship just because of the name on the back of his jersey.

“There are a lot of alumni out there that want to have their sons or daughters on scholarship at Notre Dame,” offensive line coach Ed Warinner said. “He’s a great technician. He’s a smart kid. He’s very physical and he plays hard. He could be a right tackle, right guard, possibly a center. He’s got the demeanor we like.”

Hanratty had offers from programs like Cal, Boston College and Florida State, and he’ll be plugged into an offensive line that returns 8 of its 10 top players.

Matt Hegarty, OL: Arguably the crown jewel of the offensive line recruiting class, Hegarty is a U.S. Army All-American that had offers from just about every top program in the country before pledging to Warinner and Kelly in November. A consensus Top 50 player in the country by every recruiting service, Hegarty’s got elite tackle size and athleticism that projects him to thrive on either the right or left side of the offensive line. While his recruitment didn’t get the headlines that Aaron Lynch or Stephon Tuitt got, you could make the argument that he’s the best offensive prospect the Irish signed.

Chase Hounshell, DL: Pledging the Irish late in the game after spending much of his recruitment committed to the Florida Gators, Hounshell was the Associated Press Ohio Division II co-defensive player of the year and a finalist for the Tony Fisher Award, given to the top high school football player in the Cleveland area. Hounshell will also start out on the defensive line but has the ability to shift to the other side of the ball if needed.

Aaron Lynch, DE: The recruitment of Lynch will likely go down as one of Notre Dame’s greatest recruiting stories never told, with the prized defensive end’s flip back to Notre Dame after committing to Florida State all but confirming Tony Alford’s place in the pantheon of great Irish assistant coaches. Lynch, already enrolled in school for two weeks, has every opportunity to get on the field immediately, helping a pass rush that could use more pressure on quarterbacks. Lynch is a massive defensive end that has elite speed off the edge, a dizzying prospect for a guy that’s yet to log serious hours in the weight room. Expect Lynch and Stephon Tuitt to anchor the defensive end positions after Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ethan Johnson graduate.

Nick Martin, OL: The brother of Zack Martin, Notre Dame’s best offensive lineman after only his redshirt freshman season, the younger sibling brings an All-State pedigree to South Bend that rivals his brothers. Named first-team All State by Indiana’s Associated Press, Martin flipped his commitment from Kentucky, where he was one of their biggest recruits. Nick adds another blue-chip tackle prospect that’ll help support an offensive line that returns four starters.

Tony Springmann, DE: Another Notre Dame prospect out of pipeline school Bishop Dwenger in Fort Wayne, Springmann is a jumbo-sized defensive end that the coaching staff is incredibly high on. Already listed at 6-6, 275, Springmann walks into Notre Dame this summer with the size needed to succeed as a 3-4 defensive end, and could grow his way into a player that could have an impact on both sides of the ball.

Stephon Tuitt, DE: Along with Lynch, one of Notre Dame’s best defensive line prospects since the Irish inked Victor Abiamiri. Tuitt was a five-star prospect according to Rivals and Scout, a consensus Top 100 player in the country and the Irish won a heated recruitment against Paul Johnson and the hometown Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tuitt was a wrecking ball at the U.S. Army All-American game, where he physically dominated some of the most talented players in the country. Along with Aaron Lynch, Tuitt will likely see the field immediately.