Notre Dame Already Had a More Important Signing Day

Notre Dame, Ind (UHND) — While this year’s recruiting class isn’t filled with game breaking top ranked recruits from top to bottom like we’d all like, Notre Dame already had its more important signing day. On January 4, 2005; the full staff for Notre Dame was officially in place and those 10 “recruits” formed the #1 class in the country.

Some people are harping on the fact that this class is not ranked in the top 10 or 15 or even the top 20. This was to be expected. How much higher up would this class have been if Willingham had stayed? Maybe the top 15? And that’s if recruits like AJ Trump, Rafael Eubanks, and Brian Roche picked the Irish along with David Nelson and Lawrence Wilson.

I for one however will trade the 10 spots or whatever the heck it is for those 10 new coaches that will be gracing the sidelines of Notre Dame Stadium for years to come. A coaching change at the end of the season is usually not a good thing for recruiting. A coaching change at the end of a horrible season that was leading into a disappointing recruiting season is even worse.

Weis and his staff however salvaged this class and brought in a solid class of 15 quality recruits who want Notre Dame for Notre Dame not for the coach or any other reason. It is disappointing that Weis couldn’t keep guys like Lawrence Wilson and David Nelson in the fold. However, will losing 2 or 3 or even 4 recruits in 1 single recruiting class have a bigger effect than having a whole staff of incompetent coaches on the sidelines would?

While the short term gains from the Weis hiring may have not been great, the long term benefits will more than make up for a less than spectacular class this season. The new staff has shown in the month they have been on the job that they will be much more aggressive than either of the last two regimes were at Notre Dame. They have shown they are relentless and tireless recruiters who will recruit all over the country.

Now before anyone tries to say that Willingham and his staff had more success in their first ½ class that they signed after Davie was fired remember this… Willingham brought almost his entire staff with him and had been recruiting a lot of the same guys that Notre Dame was recruiting. Weis’ staff however was made up of coaches who hadn’t been working together and who hadn’t been recruiting most of the guys Notre Dame had been.

So for those who are worried about the recruiting rankings I say relax. Notre Dame has a coaching staff in place that is capable of turning this program around. Recruiting success will follow and with a full year of recruiting I can say now I will be shocked if Notre Dame does not land a top 10 class next year.

Charlie Weis, Michael Haywood, Rick Minter, Rob Ianello, John Latina, Jerome Oliver, Bill Lewis, Brian Polian, Bernie Parmalee, and David Cutcliffe. Those are the names of the 10 “recruits” from this season that will bring Notre Dame back to the top.