The last thing I wrote on this blog was about the sudden flip of 5-star defensive end Stephon Tuitt from Notre Dame to Georgia Tech. I figured that the kid really did love Notre Dame, but in the end just felt comfortable closer to home-as many kids would. Then a day later, Kelly an the Irish staff showed fight that would have made Rocky proud (I could see “Eye of the Tiger” playing in the background of a video montage of the Irish coaches visit to the Tuitt household), visiting/bombarding the Tuitt’s, and reclaiming their prize. This late in the game, after a long commitment to the Irish and then the changing of a mind to a home state school, this switch back to Notre Dame was a shocker unlike anything I have seen in the ten years or so that I have payed attention to recruiting. To make things even crazier, Notre Dame coaches had already made this exact scenario happen a week earlier (the Aaron Lynch saga), though the Lynch decision to switch back to Notre Dame was a much longer process.

Wow. Just… wow. Madness. After following these stories, and Notre Dame recruiting for years, I have a few thoughts on Irish recruiting, so here they are:

-Notre Dame is an iconic name, that can get the attention of any recruit in the country.

-Notre Dame can recruit nationally better than anyone else.

-That being said, I’m no so sure that recruiting nationally is the advantage I once thought it was. Maybe, these days, you need to have a phenomenal base (Texas gets almost all their kids in state, i.e., close to home) to recruit great consistently. Brian Kelly mentioned as much in his press conference when he talked about the resolve of his staff, and how the locals of other states look at Notre Dame as invading their territory, and stealing their own. The Irish have always recruited nationally, but believe the talking heads when they say it is harder than ever these days.

-Notre Dame’s academics can be a strength (you can tell Tuitt’s mama wanted Notre Dame based on her comments about “Georgia Tech is gonna have to be disappointed today, and the next day”), but more often than not, can be a hindrance (it is no coincidence that the SEC is both weakest academically, and strongest in football).

-Notre Dame, like all Midwestern powers (Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State) faces cold-weather syndrome”. In other words, brutal winters are not fun to deal with, and there are plenty of options to avoid these winters. I know this can affect recruits, but how much, I don’t know.

-Notre Dame polices “campus fun” more so than some powers who are also excellent party schools. Recruits are kids that hope to have fun in college besides the work (hell, some hope just to have fun), so this may turn off some stud recruits. Again, there is an affect, but I don’t know how much.

-Notre Dame, and no school, recruits itself anymore. Win, and stud athletes will come. Hire Ron Zook, and watch your program fall apart. That is, athletes are more in tune than ever, if they don’t see tangible results, they will go somewhere else (as BK found out in early October).

Those are some of my thoughts. What do you think? Where does Notre Dame stand recruiting-wise in this day and age? Are they still an elite appeal, or can you name about ten other schools that are easier to recruit to?

It was all going to end like a fairy tale. Cinderella couldn’t have asked for a better ending. In a down period, Notre Dame had still been landing a few big name players in this new Rivals.com era (Clausen, Floyd, Rudolph, Te’o), but not nearly enough on defense, and not enough to bring overall team athleticism to the point where the Irish could truly compete with the nation’ elite.

Then, in comes Kelly, and he changes the game right away. He knows what side of the ball the Irish had been lacking, and his staff goes out and gets 5-star pass rushers/difference makers Stephon Tuitt, Aaron Lynch, and Ishaq Williams (a defensive haul that ND fans under thirty have never seen). And man, did his staff work hard to do so. The Lynch ( a 6′5, 250lb speed rusher who has been called the best DE recruit since the legendary Ross Browner in the 70’s) recruitment had more twists and turns than a roller coaster, with Lynch giving his commitment, then de-committing and giving his pledge to a rising Florida State program (Lynch is a Florida kid), only to have Lynch boomerang one more time and end up Irish. Williams (a 6′6, 240lb monster who looks like he could play in the NBA), was thought to be a Penn State catch, until a crazy last ditch, 4:30 am visit by Bod Diaco made him Irish. Seriously, it was a romantic comedy ending. Hell, unbelievable for a romantic comedy, even. Tuitt (a 6′5, 260lb bulldozer of a rusher) was thought to be the sure thing, but yesterday, goes and flips his commitment to Georgia Tech (he is a Georgia kid).

So, the fairy tale ends. A history-making class disappears. Sure, the Irish still have a great class (top 10 probably, but still a ways away from what Texas is doing). With the way they ended the season, just the addition of the difference-making Lynch and Williams could push the Irish defense into elite status (think how must stronger ND’s defense is with the explosive Te’o on the field, and that’s one guy). Most fans would say “sign me up” for that.

However, the Tuitt loss illustrates two problems with the state of Irish recruiting.

1.) With those three guys (plus OLB Ben Councell), the Irish would have had an unbelievable defensive class. One for the ages. The problem with that? It would be one for the ages for Notre Dame. Unfortunately, Alabama or Florida go out and sign a defensive class like that every single year. (So many stud defenders in SEC country.) Is that even possible for Notre Dame (5-star defenders don’t fall off trees within ND’s doorstep)? Look at the rabbits Irish coaches had to pull out of their hats to get Lynch and Williams. How likely is it that to happen every year?

2.) Tuitt most likely changed his mind to stay closer to home. Notre Dame must recruit nationally, and even with the allure of the Irish (the name can get you into any house in the country), it is harder than ever to get players from the West and South (recruiting hot spots) to go far away from home, especially when there are other elite schools that are closer. People need to be comfortable, and even if a player loves ND, he may elect to stay where he feels at home.

Yes, the Tuitt situation represents a problem. Is it one that Notre Dame can solve on a regular basis?

Irish recruiting has come a long way just this decade. Four different head coaches, and four different recruiting philosophies.

Bob Davie and his philosophy: Go for defensive players (the only side of the ball that Davie truly understood), ignore stockpiling offensive talent, and spend free time yelling toward the heavens “Notre Dame’s academics are too tough!” (Nobody liked hearing that, but academics do tend to hinder football programs.)

Ty Willingham and his philosophy: “I have to go out and recruit? Nah, I think I’ll golf instead, or maybe stay in and catch a movie on HBO.”

Charlie Weis and his philosophy: The Good: Went back to recruiting coast-to-coast for the nation’s elite, even winning major coups against the decade’s biggest recruiting power-USC. The Bad: Like Davie, Weis ignored one side of the ball (the defense this time). Maybe Weis thought scheming and sexy offensive skill players would be enough to overcome the deficiencies.

Brian Kelly and his philosophy: Get bigger, faster, stronger players, period. Especially along the trenches. The same idea the nation’s elite (namely the SEC) adheres to.

Look, recruiting is hard to follow, it’s inexact, and I’m not sure how many hard truths there actually are to this side of the business. However, I do know these two things:

1.) You win if you can get more athletic (better) players.

2.) You win if you can collect strength, speed, and depth of talent along the defensive line. (Much like Rex Ryan acquires an astonishing amount of foot-fetish videos from the adult video store.)

Notre Dame, with a few exceptions at some skill positions, has not followed either of these two tenants since Lou Holtz left.

BK, with his first full recruiting class, is putting all his energy in remedying that. He’s secured commits from defensive studs Aaaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, and Ishaq Williams (all Army All-Americans, and possible top 100 players).

Besides those guys with “NFL written all over them”, he’s also gone for depth by recruiting good, athletic players that, at the worst, can play relief roles, or, at best, grow into very good players themselves. Ben Councell (Rivals biggest all-star surprise). Anthony Rabasa. Brad Carrico. And now, Chase Hounshell.

All except Rabasa have huge frames (6′5″ or better), with the capacity to grow into 250lb-300lb monsters. All can move, and have demonstrated athleticism.

The SEC figure it out long ago, speed and athleticism is needed everywhere, not just “skill” positions. BK is recruiting like he knows that as well. If he and the other Irish coaches can use Notre Dame’s national appeal to win recruiting battles for “jumbo” athletes in the “hotbeds”, and still lure skill talent like Weis, the Notre Dame teams we will see in the next few years will start to match what we used to see on Holtz’s elite squads.