Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Irish Must Land Nelson Agholor and Ronald Darby

Notre Dame has a solid 2012 recruiting class, but in order for it to be elite, the Fighting Irish have to land 5-star wide receiver Nelson Agholor and 4-star cornerback Ronald Darby. 

These are the top two recruits left for Brian Kelly, and if he isn't able to get at least one, Notre Dame will take a drop in the recruiting rankings. Several schools will be making big leaps on national signing day, which means the Fighting Irish will be in deep trouble if they don't get more top-notch recruits. 

According to Sporting News, Agholor will announce his decision at 12:05 p.m. ET today, and Darby will make his pick at 2:30 p.m. ET. 

In addition to Notre Dame, Agholor is also considering USC, Florida, Oklahoma and Florida State. Darby, who decommitted from Notre Dame last month, is considering Florida State, Auburn, Clemson and Maryland, as well as the Fighting Irish.

Convincing Darby to re-commit with Notre Dame won't be easy, but it's definitely possible.  

These recruits will help get Notre Dame back on top, but if the Fighting Irish fail to get them, the recruiting class will take a back seat not only to other teams around the country, but also to previous Fighting Irish recruiting classes. 

When Arik Armstead chose Oregon over Notre Dame, the pressure to bring in more talented recruits got even bigger for the Fighting Irish. 

(Update: Deontay Greenberry has de-committed from Notre Dame, which puts even more pressure on the Fighting Irish to get Agholor.) 

While Kelly certainly has the program headed in the right direction, landing these highly-coveted recruits will make the 2012 class stronger, as well as ensure that the future remains in good hands. 

Notre Dame will always be able to recruit well with its rich tradition filled with superb history. However, other teams around the country are making it harder on the Fighting Irish because they're winning more. 

If Kelly isn't able to get Agholor or Darby, it's not the end of the world. Still, it's worth noting that Notre Dame doesn't have any 5-star recruits committed to them according to ESPN, and only one 5-star recruit according to Rivals. 

The Fighting Irish are expected to get the best of the best recruits year-in and year-out, but this year they're lacking on the 5-star guys. This isn't to downgrade their class at all, because it definitely has top-10 potential.

With other programs around the country expected to sign big-name players on national signing day, the Fighting Irish need to join that club by landing Agholor and Darby, or at least one. 

Update: Agholor has committed to USC

Now the pressure grows even more for the Fighting Irish to get Darby. 

Update: Darby has committed to Florida State

Irish miss out on both elite recruits, which means Kelly must work with what he's got and hope for the best. Having either one of these guys would have greatly helped the future of the program.