2013 Notre Dame Football Recruiting Class -- Wide Receivers

Welcome to the second edition of the six part, in-depth series on the 2013 Notre Dame football recruiting class. I unveiled the OFD average grades for the newest members of the Fighting Irish family last week.

For reference, here is the first piece:

2013 Recruiting Review--QB, RB, TE

The second installment will focus on the wide receivers: WR James Onwualu, WR Corey Robinson, WR Will Fuller, WR Torii Hunter, Jr.

Here are a few comments from Coach Kelly. Well, maybe more than a few:

Coach Kelly Signing Day Press Conference (via NotreDameAthletics)

The transcript from Coach Brian Kelly's press conference on national signing day can be found here.

Official OFD Recruit Grading Scale:

95-100: Elite impact freshman with All-American potential

90-94: Multi-year starter with All-conference potential

85-89: Eventual starter with chance to play as underclassman

80-84: Raw prospect with decent potential but a couple years away from impact

75-79: Likely a backup

70-74: Reach by the coaching staff

Note: All Height/Weight/40 times as listed on 247Sports.com

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WR James Onwualu

(St. Paul, MN - Cretin-Derham Hall) - 6'1.75"/205/4.53

OFD Average: 88

Notre Dame Commit James Onwualu Senior Highlights (via TheMyrecruitez)

Brian Kelly's thoughts from the signing day press conference:

James Onwualu, another one of our mid year enrollees, part of the original Irish Mob. He, too, was instrumental in helping put together our class. He was always somebody that we could count on to make a call or be up for a recruiting visit. This is a very talented player, very talented. If you watch him work out I know Coach Longo has got our guys in there already really love his athletic ability. Versatile player, he's going to be on the offensive side of the ball, but if we ever got into a bind he certainly could play defense, as well. But great attitude, just high energy, first student to ever graduate early at Cretin Derham High School. That's pretty big for that school. Again, just another great fit for us.

Here is UND.com's interview with Onwualu:

James Onwualu Interview - 2013 Notre Dame Football Early Enrollee (via NotreDameAthletics)

Whiskey: 89

Onwalu is a bit of a sleeper prospect in that I don't really think that he got the type of attention that his talent would typically draw. I am 100% fine with that as Onwalu has been on board with this class from the beginning and has the physical tools to be a very good receiver at Notre Dame. I can't wait to see what this kid looks like this spring.

Eric: 87

I have Onwualu as the top receiver of this class. Super excited about his athleticism and agility. If half the stories about his strength feats are true (without lifting weights) then we may be getting a major steal on our hands. I already wrote that in the Early Enrollee post from a while back too.

Since he'll have 8 months of workouts in the system by the time fall rolls around, it's a safe bet he breaks in to the rotation at receiver as a true freshman. I'd like to see how fast he is and if he has some jet ability we could have something special here. He's definitely one of the more underrated athletes in this class.

4pointshooter: 86

alstein: 89

Jim Miesle: 88

Onwualu has already made a bit of a splash this cycle with ESPN running an article on his strength and conditioning regimen. His highlight film reminded me a bit of another CDH alum-Michael Floyd. I don't think he has the upside of Mr. Floyd, but should turn into a similar type receiver-physical, tough to bring down, excellent blocking on the edge. I think Onwualu could make a splash on special teams as a freshman and will bring some added depth to the WR position.

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WR Corey Robinson

(San Antonio, TX - San Antonio Christian) - 6'4"/205/4.65

OFD Average: 82

Corey Robinson - 2013 Notre Dame Football Signee (via NotreDameAthletics)

Brian Kelly's thoughts from the signing day press conference:

Corey Robinson out of San Antonio Christian: I think what really impressed us about Corey is that he's just beginning to blossom. He's just started to take hold in this game of football. As you know, the Robinson name, pretty familiar. His dad obviously is a great parent and mentor, but he also probably had a little basketball for his sons growing up, and I think that transition out of basketball and focusing on football has given him now this opportunity to continue to grow as a football player. So we think we've got a guy early on that has not even come close to tapping his potential. 6'5" plus receiver, and again, I love the fact that he's a guy that will come up and get the football. Strong hands, and he runs surprisingly at 6'5", 6'6", he runs very well. So we're really excited about Corey. He, too, is a mid year enrollee for us and doing quite well.

Here is UND.com's interview with Robinson:

Corey Robinson Interview - 2013 Notre Dame Football Early Enrollee (via NotreDameAthletics)

Whiskey: 80

The Admiral's son is a long and lean prospect with very good ball skills. Robinson is intriguing as we don't really know for certain how he will continue to develop physically. He's 6'4" and 195 lbs right now but will he grow another couple of inches? Will he add enough weight to end up being a tight end? We'll be keeping an eye on this kid.

Eric: 80

Corey is a lanky athlete who reminds me a lot of a skinny Maurice Stovall. Robinson moves pretty well for a tall receiver and he's got great ball skills. I think his future will depend upon how much weight he can gain and how much of a physical presence he can be on short to intermediate routes.

I don't think he'll be quick enough to make a living down field so I think his potential is limited to being a quality possession receiver. Corey might be able to grow in to a tight end but I think he'll stay below 230 pounds and remain at receiver for his career.

4pointshooter: 83

alstein: 86

Jim Miesle: 81

Robinson is an intriguing prospect in many ways, but mainly because his impact depends heavily on two things: (1) will he grow more and (2) how much weight can he put on. Even though he is an early entry, I don't think he will see the field as a freshman. This will be good for his development and should help him grow into a red zone match-up nightmare for opposing coaches in a few years' time.

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WR William Fuller

(Philadelphia, PA - Roman Catholic) - 6'0"/165/4.52

OFD Average: 85

#7 Will Fuller- Roman Catholic (via AyoFap)

Brian Kelly's thoughts from the signing day press conference:

William Fuller out of Roman Catholic in Philadelphia: It's nice to get back into the city of Philadelphia and Roman Catholic in particular. Again, when we talk about profile schools that really hit and understand Notre Dame, Roman Catholic is one of those institutions. He's also a young man that we believe that if there's a guy that flew under the radar a little bit, it was William Fuller. The thing that really clearly stands out is his ball skills. He can run and catch the football. Any time that we got a chance to observe him, he was running and catching, just terrific ball skills. We think as he develops physically, he also has that speed, that top end speed that can obviously impact football games. Excited about William.

Whiskey: 83

Fuller is a very polished route runner that has good hands and has the ability to produce some YAC. That mix of traits could allow him to work his way into the rotation earlier than anticipated despite the fact that he is really light at 165lbs.

Eric: 80

I'm not sure what to say about Fuller. I know the coaching staff wanted a lot of receivers and this was a cycle in which Notre Dame wasn't in on a lot of the elite guys at the position. There's not a lot of film out there on Fuller so it's safe to assume the Irish coaching staff loved what they saw in person.

He's pretty quick and looks like a good athlete. Fuller's pretty skinny but that doesn't really bother me at this point. I just wish I saw a little more "wow factor" but I don't right now. He'll be someone I'll keep my eye on but I don't expect him to see the field for a couple years.

4pointshooter: 84

alstein: 91

Jim Miesle: 87

I am not sure I have much to add onto what Whiskey and Eric already pointed out. From our grades, it is clear that we aren't sure where he ends up long term. Fuller had the second largest range of grades of the class.

He probably sits out a year to add to his frame (165 lbs!?!), especially since there are two early entries from the WR group already. I think he has tremendous upside, and if he realizes this potential he could be a dangerous weapon down the road. Similar in a lot of ways to TJ Jones, and it wouldn't surprise me to see a similar career trajectory in South Bend.

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WR Torii Hunter, Jr

(Prosper, TX - Prosper) - 6'1"/172/4.57

OFD Average: 86

Torii Hunter Jr. Highlights Prosper High School WR#4 (via UFalumni11)

Brian Kelly's thoughts from the signing day press conference:

Torii Hunter, Jr. You know, I think what stands out with Torii, first of all, is he comes from a great family, and you probably know his dad plays with the Tigers now, a long time Golden Glove winner for the Angels and the Twins. He comes from a great family and a committed family, and when I say committed, not only to his education but to being the very best. I'll give you an example: We were in Torii's home just about a week ago, and as many of you know, he suffered a leg injury, and he's already up moving around after two and a half weeks. The care and the commitment that he has, here's a guy that's only going to get better and physically develop. We think he's got that burst, if you will, that ability to take it and go from anywhere on the field. We think he's an inside guy that can really make a difference for us within our offensive structure and just a great family and a great young man.

Whiskey: 84

Unfortunately Hunter broke his femur while practicing for the Under Armour All-American game which is an obvious obstacle that he will have to bounce back from. As a result he will almost definitely take a redshirt in 13' while working his way back to full speed. Hunter is a very athletic and "football smart" prospect that will give the offense one more legitimate playmaker over the course of the next few seasons.

Eric: 86

Hunter's broken femur knocked his grade down a couple points but if he comes back completely healthy there's little doubt he's the top receiver in this class. I really love his speed and athletic ability. He strikes me as the type of player who will be 6'1" add some weight to get around 190 pounds and be a huge weapon in the slot.

Hunter looks really comfortable with the ball in his hands, and his ability to accelerate out of cuts is really impressive. I'm excited to see him come back from his injury. A redshirt is probably a good idea even if he does get healthy by this summer.

4pointshooter: 86

alstein: 84

Jim Miesle: 91

I know the broken leg knocked his grade down a bit for everyone-myself included. There isn't much that you can't like about what this kid brings to the table. CBK says he wants him in the slot, and that makes a ton of sense to me. The two things that stuck out the most to me were (1) how he attacked the ball in the air, and (2) his acceleration. His hands should remind ND fans of one Golden Tate-we shouldn't expect too many passes knocked away from him. While the injury will keep him sidelined in '13, he should make a major impact in the following seasons.