We discussed it earlier in the week, but Frank over at UHND had a nice look back at the early entrants into Notre Dame, starting with the opening trio of James Aldridge, George West, and Chris Stewart in January of 2006.

It’s been six years of accepting freshman early and before there were Kyle Brindza, Brad Carrico, Everett Golson, Aaron Lynch and Ishaq Williams, there were these 16 guys.

With a nod to Frank’s article, we thought we’d breakdown the careers of the guys that have jump-started their freshman year at Notre Dame. Here’s a comprehensive look at five years worth of early enrollment.

2006

James Aldridge, RB — Former five-star recruit suffered a knee injury during high school and never showed the promise that recruiting websites forecasted.

George West, WR — Diminutive wide receiver came to campus billed as a special teams dynamo and explosive player in space. Scored only one touchdown in career, and Charlie Weis left him home during the final road trip of his career.

Chris Stewart, OL — Entered freshman season needing to transform body. Nearly switched positions and almost transferred home before finding a spot on the offensive line. Started 35 games and became a model student-athlete during his five years in South Bend.

Thoughts: While only Stewart fulfilled the promise that the 2006 recruiting class showed, this trio deserves a ton of credit for showing ND administration that early enrollment works. All three players graduated, and while Aldridge and West didn’t make the impact they wanted on the field, they walked out of South Bend with their diplomas.

2007

Armando Allen, RB — For the second year, Charlie Weis landed a blue-chip running back with injury problems. Allen was one of the top juniors in Florida before an injury sidelined him for most of his senior season. The same bug plagued Allen during his four seasons in South Bend, but he leaves the Irish football program one of the top-gainers in all-purpose yards.

Jimmy Clausen, QB — The consensus top quarterback in the class of 2007, Clausen spent three years at Notre Dame before leaving for the NFL. Behind an atrocious offensive line in 2007, Clausen started at quarterback, though injuries forced him to the sideline. After an improved sophomore year, Clausen’s junior season was one of the best statistical years in Notre Dame history.

Gary Gray, CB — Gray was one of the South’s best cornerback recruits and any hopes of getting onto the field early were ended when a preseason shoulder injury needed surgery. Gray left the team after nine games as a sophomore, briefly left school, and returned for 2009, when he started seven games. Primed for a fifth year after a breakout 2010 season.

Thoughts: If there’s a boilerplate for how to use early-enrollees, this one seems to be it. Even though Clausen was plagued with bone spurs in his elbow (an ailment Weis tried to hide in Belichickian fashion), the early enrollment gave Jimmy a chance to compete for a wide open starting quarterback job. (Of course, it could be said Weis rigged the competition, with Team Clausen getting plenty of reassurances that he’d be the one selected come the start of the ’07 season, even if it meant finding a new quarterbacks coach.) The injury to Gray was another stroke of bad luck but Allen managed to get on the field as a freshman, though he wasn’t physically able to handle the game yet. In retrospect, you’ve got to wonder if Allen’s lack of vision on the field was from the gap between a successful junior season in high school to running for his life behind a brutal offensive line in 2007.

2008

Sean Cwynar, DL — Cwynar was an elite recruit who chose the Irish over mostly Big Ten programs and participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He rightfully sat out to 2008 season, preserving a year of eligibility, a move that’ll pay off over the next two years. He was ranked the fourth-best player in Illinois, behind teammates Steve Filer and Darius Fleming.

Trevor Robinson, OL — The Irish out-dueled the home state Cornhuskers for Rivals’ No. 1 ranked guard, giving Weis and his staff an important victory at a huge position of need. He walked onto campus and became only the fifth freshman to start on the line, logging minutes in 11 of 13 games.

Thoughts: The 2008 recruiting class was a monster, with Dayne Crist, Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd all garnering five-star rankings and everybody but Hafis Williams, David Posluszny, Mike Golic and John Goodman rated as four-star prospects. The idea of a lineman enrolling early only makes sense if playing early is an option and for Robinson it obviously was. That said, Robinson hasn’t turned into the player many thought he’d be, and he’s been hampered by nagging injuries for much of his three seasons. You can’t help but wonder if slowing his development down would’ve paid off for him. On Cwynar, if you’re looking for a guy that might be primed to make a serious leap as an upperclassman, it’d be Cwynar, who has two years of eligibility left and played very well in place of Ian Williams.

2009

EJ Banks, DB — Banks had offers from Ohio State, Florida State and a few other big players, and enrolled early as a cornerback looking to see the field. But an ACL injury suffered during his final game of high school set him back behind a competitive cornerback depth chart, and personal reasons had him step away from the football program in August. While head coach Brian Kelly welcomed Banks back to the team as a walk-on for part of the season, Banks had gone home to Pittsburgh before the semester ended, mulling his future options.

Zeke Motta, DB — Motta came to South Bend the son of a coach and a hard-nosed, in-the-box safety ready to knock heads. He had offers from schools like Auburn, Florida and Florida State, but ultimately stuck with Notre Dame, playing every game as a freshman, mostly on special teams. With an already thin safety position decimated by injury, Motta stepped up and played major minutes opposite Harrison Smith this year, improving in coverage as the season went on. Motta and Slaughter will likely battle for a starting role this spring, with the loser still getting a ton of minutes in nickel.

Tyler Stockton, DT — Stockton went from the U.S. Army All-American game with Motta to South Bend. He came into Notre Dame ranked as the third-best defensive tackle by ESPN, but spend 2009 watching, preserving a valuable year of eligibility. He played in six games this year, making only one tackle, but adds more depth to the interior of the defensive line.

Thoughts: Banks was the first early-enrollee to leave Notre Dame. Whether he left because of academic difficulties or for on-the-field reasons, we’ll never really know. His departure left the secondary pretty thin, where the Irish now have a scarcity issue at both safety and corner. Stockton sitting his freshman season is what should happen with just about every interior player that a team can afford to sit, and shows that Weis did learn how important it was to develop lineman by letting them stay on the sidelines.

2010

Spencer Boyd, CB — The freshman cornerback transferred before he ever saw the field, heading home to be closer to some family obligations and playing on the opposite side of the ball for South Florida head coach Skip Holtz. He sat out this season and will return to South Bend wearing enemy colors next year.

Chris Badger, DB — Another preseason loss, Badger chose to take his two-year mission before the season, leaving the Irish dangerously thin in the secondary.

TJ Jones, WR — A surprise from arrival, Jones was the talk of Spring Practice when he ascended into the starting lineup. He did most of his work from the slot during spring ball, but after Theo Riddick returned, Jones stayed in the starting lineup, scoring a touchdown in each of his first two games before slowing down the stretch.

Tommy Rees, QB — The best use of early enrollment in ND history, Rees gave up his senior year of high school to provide depth at quarterback and jump-starting his development allowed the Irish to win after Dayne Crist went down. The least heralded of the QB recruits, Rees brought a moxie to the position and led the Irish to a 4-0 record as a starter.

Lo Wood, CB — Thrust into action with the secondary thin on numbers, Wood played in 11 games, mostly on special teams, and should step onto the field next season as one of three returning scholarship cornerbacks.

Thoughts: While they’d never say it, the Irish coaching staff was far from rattled after losing both Boyd and Badger during the preseason. Even though those freshman might have added some depth, the coaching staff moved on without missing a beat. Losing two players before they ever step on the field isn’t the proper use of early enrollment, and you’ve got to think that the coaching transition, and two pretty unique circumstances, led to their departure. That said, if there’s a perfect reason why Notre Dame needed to open up early acceptance, it’s Tommy Rees. Without Rees’ spring in Kelly’s spread offense, there’s no way he’d have been ready to play winning football for the Irish.

***

Five years of early enrollment have yielded some interesting results. With the exception of Clausen, none of the Irish early enrollees seem to be true NFL prospects. So while the original theory that Notre Dame needed to open up enrollment to compete for the five-star talents might have been a little misstated. That said, we’ve also seen where early enrollment helps. Guys like Clausen, Tommy Rees, and even TJ Jones are perfect examples of spring practice helping prepare a youngster for contributing early.

After five years and 16 players, Notre Dame has successfully implemented early enrollment, something thought to be an impossibility at Notre Dame. While it hasn’t been the smashing success many thought it’d be, combining it with the proper use of redshirts and developmental tools like training table, it’s one more thing that’s helping the Irish football program catch up to the pack.