Brian Kelly is done with his first official recruiting class at Notre Dame. What to think of it, though?

Well, he not in Heaven, but he’s not exactly in Hell, either. He’s not great, but he’s not horrible. He’s stuck in the middle. We call it Purgatory. You know, the Griffin’s favorite family vacation spot?

Family Guy (Scene 3, Take 1)

[Picture an over-sized, immature, womanizing, fat guy with a white button-down, sitting with a pretty attractive redhead, with a slender figure, but pointed-nose, and a dog that looks like Snoopy. Aaand here we go!]

Lois Griffin: So, Peter, where shall we go for your week off?
Peter Griffin: Well, I… I was thinking we could all go to Purgatory like we did last year!
[it switches to the Griffins floating in front of a plain white background]
Lois Griffin: This isn’t bad… it’s not that good, but y’know… it’s not that bad.
Brian Griffin: It’s so-so.
Peter Griffin: Yeah… more or less…

There were some nice gets. Matt James (top 100 recruit) at offensive line. Christian Lombard (Parade All-America) also on the offensive line. The NFL-sized Andrew Hendrix at quarterback (the big, bad Florida Gators tried to get him), the speedy Tailer Jones (an ND legacy) at WR. The man-child, 360 degree-dunking Louis Nix to man the middle of the defensive line.

There were some guys that might turn into players in a few years. Danny Spond (is he a duel-threat qb, safety, or linebacker?). The athletic linebacker/defensive end combo of Prince Shembo, and Kendall Moore. Tate Nichols, a decent tight end who could develop into a very athletic book-end tackle. The 6-4 redzone threat of Daniel Smith at wide receiver. Austin Collinsworth could be a diamond in the rough (NFL genes, his dad was a star for the Bengals in the ’80’s).

Then, there were some “what the’s?!”. Tommy Rees (eat some spinach so you can throw it twenty yards, kid). Bruce Heggie, who did not get offered by another single, solitary Division 1A program. Not even a Buffalo. Chris Badger, yet another Irish safety who will have to survive on instincts rather than athleticism (Rudy is a great movie, but that doesn’t mean you have to recruit him every year. He just graduated again, and his name was Kyle McCarthy.)

In summation, some good, some bad. Nothing that make you just want to shout Isley Brother’s-style, but nothing that makes you to hang around Lydia Deets, either.

Should Kelly be commended for keeping this class together after the coaching change, and having such a short time to develop relationships? Maybe. But Lane Kiffin joined USC even later, kept together a consensus top 10 class, and even lured Seantrel Henderson away at the last minute.

Can Kelly win with a class that’s a consensus top 20 (which his was)? Well, he won with the equivalent of a rubber band, copper wire, and aluminum from an old Pepsi can at UC, so it’s hard to think that he wouldn’t.

But, win at what level? the stakes at Notre Dame are higher, and at ND it’s national championship or bust. That means standing toe-to-toe with the USC’s Alabama’s and Florida’s (who just signed a video game amount of 4-star recruits, like 22) of the world. These schools get the perceived best players in high school, and are always in the conversation for the championship. Can Kelly do that with the type of class he signed today, or would they just be a really good 10 win/BCS game type of team.

My guess is an “in the BCS conversation” type of team, but a notch or two below the Florida’s of the world.

So, perhaps the best thing about today, is that Brian Kelly knows he is in Purgatory. That he got a “good start”, but must do better. That he plans to build relationships, and make a bigger splash in next year’s recruiting cycle. Because with the way the other power programs are recruiting (rich getting richer), he’s gonna have to.