The newest crop of Notre Dame football players signed their national letters of intent Wednesday.
"We have a class that represents the needs that we had in our football program," Irish coach Brian Kelly said.
Kelly introduced his third recruiting class at Notre Dame on Wednesday, 16 young men from 13 different states.
The headline grabber: five-star quarterback Gunner Kiel, a high school All-American and the top-ranked quarterback in the country, who left LSU at the altar and enrolled early at Notre Dame.
"I think everybody has heard about his (recruiting) process," Kelly said. "Really, what you're looking for as a coach, is that somebody's happy where he is. And you can see that Gunner's happy at Notre Dame."
The class also includes five defensive backs, more than twice as many as any other position, led by early enrollee Tee Shepard.
"We believe he is the best cornerback in the country," Kelly said.
But for all the 16 players who did sign today, perhaps the biggest news was the one that didn't. Five-star wide receiver Deontay Greenberry, a long-time commitment to the Irish, flipped to Houston at the last minute.
"For me, it's hard to be disappointed about something you never had, or never coached," Kelly said. "I'm more excited about the guys that signed, because they are the right kind of guys."
Those guys make up a class ranked 22nd by Rivals, 19th by Scout and 17th by Maxpreps. But more important to Kelly, one that fits his needs.
"This year was about that skill level," Kelly said. "And especially at the defensive backfield and the wide receiver positions."
And now that the recruiting season is finally finished, "2013 has already begun," Kelly said.
