Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Why Brian Kelly Needs Strong Push in Final Weeks

Notre Dame, like many other teams whose season has come to an end, must hit the recruiting trail hard, and given how these last two seasons have gone, Brian Kelly needs to reel in some big names. 

The Fighting Irish choked in the Champ Sports Bowl, which of course did not help recruiting. Since the BCS bowl games have stolen the show, some recruits might have forgotten about Notre Dame a little bit.

With National Signing Day just weeks away, Kelly must step his recruiting game up to land the elite players.

These closing weeks of recruiting are extremely crucial, as it could be the difference from a Top-15 class to a Top-Five. 

The 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl takes place this Saturday, and a couple of recruits are expected to make their announcements after the game.

Of course, verbal commits don't mean a whole lot in today's college football world, but it would still be nice for the Fighting Irish to hear a recruit choose them on live television. 

Those who play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl are some of the best players in the country, and those who have committed are turning into recruiters this week to make sales pitches to other top-notch players. 

Of those making decision on Saturday, a few of them have interest in the Fighting Irish.

Damon Sayles of ESPN writes that 4-star wide receiver Jordan Payton will choose between Notre Dame, Michigan, California and UCLA after the game.

Being from California, one would think he might stay in-state, but according to Rivals, of those four schools, Michigan and Notre Dame are the only ones he's officially visited.

Payton did tweet he would attend Cal, but it was later removed. ESPN reported on it, but there's no word yet if the tweet was the actual truth. That doesn't look good for Notre Dame. 

Roger Brown of ESPN writes that after the game, 4-star safety Elijah Shumate will pick from Notre Dame, South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Rutgers. The Fighting Irish are apparently recruiting him to play running back.

Rutgers is the home town team for Shumate, but the school he most recently visited was Notre Dame, which could give the Fighting Irish the upper hand. 

Scout.com's No. 1 overall recruit, Arik Armstead, was expected to announce at this game, but Sayles writes that he has pushed his decision date back. 

If Notre Dame doesn't get at least one, it will add more pressure on Kelly over the coming weeks. Currently, the Fighting Irish have a Top-15 recruiting class, but that needs to improve. 

Recruiting elite players is how a program can quickly turn around. Notre Dame had been on the downtrend, but Kelly was bringing them back up.

The struggles of this past season don't help, and if the Fighting Irish miss out on some of the dynamic recruits, it will only make matters worse. 

Time is running out for Kelly to ensure his 2012 recruiting class is the best it can be, and he had better hope he picks up a few more players once national signing day arrives. If he doesn't, the future of Notre Dame won't be as strong as it needs to be.