Notre Dame Football Recruiting: 4-Star LB Commitment Helps Boost Defense

Notre Dame is putting in a solid effort on the recruiting trail and that has a lot to do with the new energy that Brian Kelly has brought to the program and the aggressive approach to recruiting. Instead of resting on their laurels and believing that kids will come to Notre Dame because it is Notre Dame; Brian Kelly and staff are now doing their best to keep up with the Joneses. They've played the night games, they've done the uniform dance and they have made going to Notre Dame "cool" again.

Along with an overall overhaul of recruiting, Kelly has brought a push to get defensive talent into the boat in South Bend. He already has one of the top linebacker commits pledged to the Irish, Jaylon Smith from Indiana. That's a big get for the Fighting Irish as Smith looks to become a monster on the defensive side of things in the very near future. 

Today, Notre Dame got another boost to their defensive side of the ball as Michael Deeb, a 4-star linebacker according to ESPN, committed to Brian Kelly and his staff. As the Chicago Tribune reports, Deeb is a big time player out of Plantation, Fla. who hopes to man the middle for the Fighting Irish. 

With Manti Te'o heading to the NFL after the 2012 season, there will be a massive hole in the middle of that Irish defense and while Jaylon Smith should be a terror on the edge; a guy like Deeb, and Irish target Alex Anzalone, could see plenty of playing time early.

Brian Kelly has two main focus areas this year, his defense and his offensive line. He understands that while the skill positions are nice, you need a great foundation up front and on the defensive side to win a lot of ball games. Obviously, we're still months from February, but as long as Notre Dame can keep these guys in the boat and battle for a few more talented defensive players, this should be the cornerstone of a great Fighting Irish defense.