Notre Dame Football: Exploring the Mystery of Fighting Irish Recruiting Woes

It's a well-known fact that the lifeblood of every major college football program is recruiting. The premier programs of the sport attract top-level talent with ease and regularity. It's no wonder that two of the sport's elite recruiters—Alabama head coach Nick Saban and LSU head coach Les Miles—faced off in the BCS National Championship Game. 

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has attracted his fair share of four- and five-star talent to South Bend, but there's something missing. It's similar to the final piece of a puzzle mysteriously disappearing from the box.

The streak of misfortune for the Fighting Irish began shortly after a disheartening loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl. Ronald Darby—a four-star defensive back nicknamed "Nitro" because of his blazing speed—de-committed from Notre Dame days after viewing the Seminoles take down Brian Kelly's squad in Orlando.

But where's the sense in Darby's decision? The 5'11", 172-pound coveted cornerback was pegged as a starter for what would have been his freshman season in an Irish uniform, theoretically making him a guaranteed four-year starter, should he have desired to remain in school for the full four seasons.

And what made the situation even more maddening for Fighting Irish fans was Darby's choice to flip his commitment to Florida State, the victor of the Champs Sports Bowl—and an arch nemesis of Notre Dame. Darby won't be a starter at Florida State as a freshman and will battle for playing time with a stacked depth chart at cornerback. 

Where's the logic in that decision? No one but Darby and those close to him will ever know the truth and logic behind the young man's "defection" from Notre Dame. 

While that episode certainly stung Notre Dame, surely another defection would not take place. Or would it? 

Unfortunately, Darby's switch was the first in a series of devastating blows to Notre Dame's recruiting efforts. 

Deontay Greenberry, a coveted receiver, de-committed from Notre Dame on the morning of National Signing Day, only to sign with the University of Houston. I still don't understand that move and likely never will. Next came Greenberry's cousin, Tee Shepard. Shepard enrolled at Notre Dame in January but suddenly dropped out and made his way back to his hometown of Fresno, California. 

Yet the straw that broke the camel's back was Aaron Lynch's decision to transfer after being a full-time starter at defensive end as a freshman in 2011. 

Any sanity that still remained in the collective conscious of Notre Dame Nation evaporated upon the news that Lynch had packed his bags and returned to Florida because he wasn't satisfied with the "weather and stuff" in South Bend. 

So what is it with Notre Dame? Is the school cursed, like Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs? I'm not one for curses, so let's not even begin to steer the conversation in that direction. 

Is it the academic rigors? What about the lack of more attractive co-eds? I have a hard time believing either one of those reasons, because 17- and 18-year-old kids in the mid-1980s weren't much different than the teens of today. 

That leads me to believe that there's something occurring behind the closed doors of the program that is steering recruits away. As unfair as it seems, the blame lies solely on Brian Kelly for the seemingly broken culture. That's not to say that he and his staff aren't working to repair it, but it's broken, nonetheless. 

Yes, Notre Dame is a unique school that requires a tremendous commitment in all areas of life, but former head coach Charlie Weis was able to bring in nearly any high school prospect who showed interest in the program. He didn't deal with the amount of de-commitments and transfers that Kelly has seen. 

So it's up to Kelly to seal the cracks. 

If he does, he may just find himself in the same pantheon as those two coaches from the SEC.