Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide offensive linesman Barrett Jones (75) prepares to snap the ball at the line of scrimmage against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half of the 2013 BCS Championship game at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

All 23 players in Notre Dame’s Freshman class have enrolled in classes and are currently on campus. The countdown begins for the 2013 Notre Dame football season. Notre Dame will need impact performances from several Freshman this year to have a successful season this year. Last year, KeiVarae Russell and Sheldon Day made huge contributions for the Fighting Irish.

Who has the best opportunity to make that type of impact this year? Slap the Sign will countdown 10 of these players.

Issac Rochell

6’5″ 260 lbs

Strongside Defensive End

McDonough, Georgia

Issac Rochell probably would not have made it on this list if Eddie Vanderdoes was still enrolling at Notre Dame. However, with the transfer of Vanderdoes, the timetable for Rochell just got bumped up. Notre Dame obviously has a starting line of Tuitt, Nix and Day. The second rotation is less certain. If the season began today, the second unit would consist of Utupo, Schwenke and Springmann. Utupo has not played a significant amount for the Fighting Irish. Rochell could fit in well at his spot. He does not need to give the Fighting Irish a lot. He just needs to give them about 20 snaps per game.

Top 10 Impact Freshman

1. TBA
2. TBA
3. TBA
4. TBA
5. TBA
6. TBA
7. TBA
8. TBA
9. TBA
10. Issac Rochell

Would Brian Kelly leave Notre Dame for the NFL?

Jan 5, 2013; Miami FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly during media day for the 2013 BCS Championship game at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly has won 28 games in his three seasons at Notre Dame, which ties Dan Devine’s school record of most wins by an Irish head coach in their first three years.  Kelly’s 122 wins are third behind Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Texas’ Mack Brown for the most FBS wins since 2001.  He has won everywhere he has gone; Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati and now has won 20 of his last 24 games coaching for the Fighting Irish.

One can only wonder about the opportunities that could arise for Kelly in the future.  Leaving for another college powerhouse will not likely happen.  Although the pressure can tighten more than any other program in the country at Notre Dame, Kelly’s comfort level is at an all-time high.  The Irish just played in a title, Notre Dame is his alma mater and few can recruit with a name like Notre Dame.  With the successes of Pete Carroll at USC, Chip Kelly at Oregon, Greg Schiano at Rutgers, the NFL has been after hot-name college coaches and Brian Kelly is towards the top of that list along with A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.

Although Kelly passed on the NFL for now, job opportunities at the next level open quicker than most believe.  If the right position presents itself, you can only assume Kelly would give the opening some serious consideration like he did with the Philadelphia job.  For now, Brian Kelly is the head coach of Notre Dame.  What exactly does that mean?  That means continuing a winning tradition in South Bend and hopefully keeping young men on the right path towards a degree.

Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish nose tackle Louis Nix (1) gestures before a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame faces off against Temple on August 31st. But, you can punish them a lot sooner with the new NCAA Football video game. Here are Notre Dame’s Top 10 players in the game. Did they get it right?

1. Louis Nix, Senior, DT-94 Overall-Big Lou checks in as the best player on Notre Dame’s team with a 94 rating. Based on NFL projections, Nix is probably Notre Dame’s #1 player.

2. Stephon Tuitt, Junior, DE-91 Overall-Tuitt is probably the second best player on Notre Dame’s team. The only gripe with his ratings is that he only has 76 speed. The EA Sports people must have missed the Navy game. That looked more like 83 speed.

3. Zack Martin, Senior, LT-90 overall-Martin is an extremely solid Left Tackle. He is very deserving of his 90 rating. The Quarterback’s blindside should be safe. Sort of. After all, it is a video game.

 4. George Atkinson, Junior, RB-89 Overall-If Atkinson ends up as an 89 rated type of player in real life, the Irish coaching staff will take it. Notre Dame needs Atkinson to be the workhorse this year. The makers think he can carry the rock.

5. Amir Carlisle, Sophomore (RS), RB-89 Overall-This is the first surprise rating by EA Sports. Carlisle has performed well in practice but has yet to translate that to the field. Maybe his injury rating is really low.

6. Chris Watt, Senior, LG-89 Overall-Watt solidifies the left side of the line for gamers with a solid score. Someone did their homework. The Fighting Irish should have an extremely strong left side in both the virtual and real world this year.

7. Everett Golson, Junior, QB-89 Overall-Isn’t this what video games are for? Fans of the Fighting Irish will get to see what an Everett Golson lead team would have looked like. Additionally, the makers of the game thought pretty of high of him because he is tied as the best Offensive skill player that the Fighting Irish have on the game.

8. Prince Shembo, Senior, OLB-88 Overall-Shembo is a really good player but is he the best Linebacker that the Fighting Irish have? Is he better than Fox, Calabrese and Spond. Probably.

9. Bennett Jackson, Senior, CB, 87 Overall-Jackson is an extremely underrated player. It appears that he is underestimated in this game as well. Jackson is by far the third best player on the Defense. He should be rated 90.

10. Dan Fox, Senior, LB, 87 Overall-There is some old Notre Dame fan who does not play video games that is really mad about this one. Fox draws a lot of criticism from fans for not being as instinctual as his former running mate Manti Te’o. But, the reality is Fox is a productive Linebacker.

NCAA Football 14 comes out on July 9th.