Notre Dame players Kyle Hamilton, Cam Hart, Conor Ratigan, and KJ Wallace addressed Kelly's departure on Inside The Garage podcast, talking about how that situation shouldn't affect the program's ability to recruit top-notch talent in the future:
“It’s part of the business," said Hart. "I’m getting all these texts and calls, like, ‘Yo, Are you okay? Come to my school, come to this school.’ One of my boys [said], ‘Come to Jackson State.’ Like, no bro, I’m fine, I didn’t come here for Coach Kelly. Like, respect for Coach Kelly, I have nothing but respect for the man, he’s helped me along the way, but I came here because of Notre Dame."
“A lot of people have been saying this is going to kill ND’s recruiting. If it does, then honestly I think that it’s for the better," said Hamilton. "No offense to Coach Kelly, but I know what the school can offer me, I know what the people can offer me, and I know what the football, obviously, can offer me. The football’s not going anywhere."