Amir Carlisle: Notre Dame Recruiting Class Gets Huge Boost from USC Transfer

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are starting to look like a Brian Kelly team after all.

Although there is some inconsistency at the quarterback position, Kelly's recruiting classes continue to add speed all over the field with particular emphasis at the skill positions.

One player the Irish lost out on last year, USC freshman running back Amir Carlisle, has just give the Irish a huge boost. According to Bob Weineke of the South Bend Tribune, Carlisle is transferring to Notre Dame after just one season in Southern California:

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Carlisle will transfer to Notre Dame and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2013 season. He will enroll at ND for the spring 2012 semester, which begins Jan. 17. Carlisle must sit out the 2012 season to satisfy NCAA transfer requirements.

“It was a very tough decision for him to select USC over Notre Dame last year,” Duane Carlisle, Amir’s father, told the South Bend Tribune on Saturday. “It came down to the wire, and it was neck-and-neck the whole time. Very close decision. They’re both great places with great traditions.

“He’s excited. He’s very excited about the opportunity to continue his career as a student-athlete at Notre Dame.”

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The decision had nothing to do with playing time or differences with the Trojans program, but instead was a family decision. Carlisle's father, a former strength and conditioning coach with the San Francisco 49ers, is now employed by Purdue University as the Director of Sports Performance.

The 5'10", 186-pound running back could easily have been the Trojans' starting tailback this season as a true freshman if not for injury. He wound up with only 19 total carries on the year and was forced to wear a knee brace.

Now he'll have an entire year to heal while he sits out and will come back in 2013 as the Irish's likely starter.

Carlisle is an all-purpose back with good speed and tons of potential. Notre Dame hasn't had a dynamic rusher to call their own since Darius Walker left in 2007.