(MCT) — The best recruiting class Brian Kelly says he has signed in his relatively brief Notre Dame tenure, like everything else, now gets compartmentalized in one specific context: how it can help the Irish avoid future championship game disintegrations.

The celebrated group of signatures that arrived Wednesday was more milepost than launching pad. To continue competing for titles, it helps to collect the third-best group of recruits, according to the 247 composite rankings, as Notre Dame did. It helps to collect four five-star players, according to Rivals.com, three of whom play defense.