Notre Dame Football: 3 signees who’ll have instant impacts in 2021

Notre Dame football just signed the No. 9 class in 2021 and Brian Kelly has to feel good about his newcomers. Which signees will have instant impacts?

After signing the No. 18 class in the country a year ago and making the College Football Playoff for the second time in two seasons, Brian Kelly just signed the No. 9 group in 2021 and the future looks incredibly bright in South Bend.

Kelly saw a couple of years ago after getting throttled by Clemson in the playoff that the talent level at Notre Dame needed to improve and he got that wake-up call once again this year after a loss to the Tigers in the ACC title game and Alabama in the national semifinal. He responded with a top-10 class which will undoubtedly yield a number of freshmen who’ll play right away.

Which 2021 signees will have an immediate impact for the Irish this season?

Notre Dame is losing a lot of talent from the receiver position this offseason with Javon McKinley and Ben Skowronek gone but Avery Davis is back in the slot. And that’s where Lorenzo Styles Jr. would be playing as well.

But even though Davis back, Styles Jr. is the top-rated early enrollee for Notre Dame and while I originally had Deion Colzie as an instant impact receiver for the Irish — which could still happen — I think we see Styles hitting the field early on and providing a punch in the passing game in 2021.

Not just that, but he could develop a strong relationship with incoming freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner which could benefit both in terms of early playing time.

Styles Jr. is ranked the No. 115 overall prospect and 20th-best receiver in the 2021 class, per the composite.