For some reason, Notre Dame still has a recruiting edge over other schools. They are currently ranked tenth by Rivals, having signed one five-star recruit and nine four-star recruits. In southern California, where the Irish will take on USC this Saturday, Notre Dame has continued to get the best players. With all of these great recruits it begs the question, why are they still losing?
Most of the other teams in the recruiting top ten are also ranked in Associated Press top 25. The other schools, Michigan, LSU and North Carolina, have had success recently. Louisiana State even has a national championship from last season. Notre Dame may have the most national championships, but their last one was in 1988, before the recruits were born.
Somehow, they're still getting the best student-athletes. Part of it has little to do with football, as Notre Dame is highly sought after by many high school seniors who are not athletes. In the fall of 2007, Notre Dame accepted only 24.5 percent of students who applied. Throw in beautiful facilities and Charlies Weis' NFL contacts, and the Irish win the recruiting wars. Unfortunately, that's the only place they are winning.
Having top players, but still losing, throws even more of a spotlight on Weis' coaching inadequacies. A college coach has to succeed in two arenas, on the gridiron and in the recruits' living room. A coach who comes from the pros, like Weis did, usually has more trouble adjusting to the recruiting aspect of the job. A professional coach, especially one with no head coaching or general manager experience like Weis, doesn't have to convince a player to come to his club. In this instance, Weis has the players he wants. Why can't he get them to win?
