Oct. 6, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back George Atkinson III (4) runs for a touchdown as Miami Hurricanes cornerback Antonio Crawford (39) defends in the third quarter at Soldier Field. Notre Dame won 41-3. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

CBSSports confirmed what Notre Dame fans already know; George Atkinson is one of the most physically impressive players in college football. Atkinson was included on a list of the 20 craziest athletes in college football. The list includes stars like Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel and Marqise Lee.

CBSSports.com Senior Writer Bruce Feldman wrote:

“The reserve Irish running back has good size at 215 pounds to go with blazing speed. Last year, he ran a 10.36 100-meter dash at the Big East track championships. Even though it was a wind-aided time, it wasn’t much over the legal-limit and shows a gear Notre Dame football fans hadn’t seen much of in a few years.”

Feldman definitely hits the nail on the head with his analysis of the Junior Running Back. However, Atkinson has failed to develop as a technician and a student of the game. This year, he will be leaned on heavily as the Starting Running Back. He will be leaned upon even more early on while Freshman Running Backs Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston develop.

Atkinson has always been a 5-star athlete. He has electrified the Fighting Irish with his kickoff returns and his long touchdown runs. But, it is the tough yards that Atkinson has failed to get. If Atkinson has a success season, it will be because he has learned to run inside with power when it counts.

Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Carlo Calabrese (44), defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, and safety Matthias Farley (41) celebrate after an interception by Farley in the second quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish coaching staff extended an offer to 2015 Long Beach Poly Defensive Back Iman Marshall. Marshall adds the University of Notre Dame to an impressive offer list that includes Southern California, Florida State and Washington.

247Sports is the only recruiting service that currently has rankings for the 2015 class. Marshall is ranked as the 50th best recruit in the class. He is the 5th best Cornerback. Marshall is rated as the 8th best player in the state of California.

Marshall checks in at 6’2″ 195. This frame makes it seem like he will eventually play Safety as opposed to Cornerback at the collegiate level. Marshall is only 16 years old. He will probably grow a few more inches before his Freshman year.

Notre Dame historically has not done well at Long Beach Poly High School. Players from this school typically head to USC. However, Notre Dame did land Freddie Parish IV under Tyrone Willingham. Parish eventually transferred to Stephen F. Austin after his Sophomore year.

Marshall appears to be leaning towards selecting the Trojans of Southern California at this point in his recruitment. Based on information available and USC’s history with the high school, Marshall will likely make a commitment before the beginning of his Senior season.

Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish line up in the first quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

One significant shift between the previous staff and the current staff is how quickly they offer prospects. Recruiting is moving faster and faster. For example, Dylan Moses, an 8th grader from Baton Rogue, Louisiana, already has offers from Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Nebraska and Texas. Obviously, Moses is an outlier. But, he is indicative of a boarder picture of recruiting.

Notre Dame offered Junior Defensive Tackle Shy Tuttle on Wednesday. The Junior from Lexington, North Carolina has several big time offers already including Clemson and North Carolina.

Tuttle checks in at 6’2″ 285lbs. In 2012, he filled the stat sheet with 83 tackles, 16 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. These statistics demonstrate that he is relentless and aggressive  when taking on the ball carrier.

In 2014, the Irish will only have 7 Defensive Linemen after Nix and Tuitt leave for the NFL (again, Tuitt still has eligibility but it is likely that he will declare). The Fighting Irish have commitments from Jay Hayes and Andrew Trumbetti for 2014. This puts the Irish at 9 players. In 2015, Tuttles’ freshman year, the number of players could dip down to 6 players along the front. Notre Dame obviously needs to land big time players in the 2014 class and the 2015 class to have solid depth in the Defensive Line.