Notre Dame Football: 5 freshman who’ll have instant impacts in 2017

Brian Kelly announced the freshmen he has decided on playing this year. Here are five that will provide instant impacts for Notre Dame football in 2017.

It was only a matter of days ago that Brian Kelly was prompted about who he envisioned making the team as a true freshman come the 2017 season. Surprisingly, Kelly was very transparent when discussing which players were going to be foregoing a freshman redshirt.

Of the six names called, there was certainly a mix of the expected and unexpected. Nevertheless, Kelly’s comments should surely excite fans who were anxious about what kind of young depth the Irish would have on their roster for the upcoming season.

While there is certainly a good chance more names are added to this list in the next few days, the following picks will only be taken from those Kelly has verbally assured will be playing in 2017. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are five players with immediate impact potential.

Cole Kmet was one of the surprises on this list, not due to his abilities but because of the amount of tight ends at the perennially deep position. Kmet enrolled at Notre Dame on June 17, not giving himself a lot of time to adjust to the new offense compared to his teammates.

Kmet was one of the highest ranked players at his position coming out of high school, earning a top three ranking from most recruiting sites. The freshman out of St. Viator was also ranked within the top 100 overall players by those very sites.

In terms of his play, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound tight end has all of the physical attributes desired of a well-rounded blocker/receiver. Kmet is very similar to many of the Notre Dame tight ends that have come before, and is likely next in line for the opportunity to carry on the torch.

Kmet will be a great source of depth for the Irish, and will likely not need the extra year of eligibility if he proves to be the player Notre Dame hopes he will be. However, seeing as how he is currently sitting behind junior Alize Mack, graduate student Durham Smythe, and senior Nic Weishar, it may be difficult for him to surface as a star.

Even if Kmet does manage to solidify himself in the lineup, he will have a great deal of competition in four-star tight end Brock Wright. He was ranked the No. 2 overall tight end in his class, just one spot higher than Kmet. Should this year come as more of a watch-and-learn season for Wright, don’t be surprised to see the two split playing time in the next few years.

Nevertheless, Kmet certainly has everything he needs to flourish in a tight end friendly system, even in his first year. Mack will be his strongest competitor, but he will definitely have the chance to pass up Smythe and Weishar should he get off to a great start.

If he does carve out a decent role for himself, don’t be surprised to see him give Mack a run for his money. Mack has much more experience both in this offense and in general, but Kmet’s significant potential suggests he should not be counted out.