Notre Dame Football Learns Recruiting Stars Truly Matter

Notre Dame's recent challenges prove that star ratings in recruiting play a crucial role in building a championship-caliber team.

Ohio State Buckeyes running back Quinshon Judkins (1) runs the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the College Football Playoff championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20, 2025. Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Gee Scott Jr. (88) | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame could've beaten OSU, but would have needed to be almost perfect to pull it off

Entering the national title game, Ohio State featured 14 five-star rated players compared to Notre Dame's one. Did this raw talent disparity mean the Irish couldn't win the game? Certainly not.

But what it did mean is that Notre Dame's path to winning the game was a very narrow one. The Irish had to be near perfect to hoist the trophy. They weren't, and now Ryan Day has gone from zero to hero in the minds of Ohio State fans in the span of a month since the Michigan loss.

I bring up this raw elite talent disparity not to dump on Notre Dame. The Irish players and staff deserve a ton of credit for fighting through injury issues all season and still finding a way to fight, scratch, and claw their way to be one of the final two teams standing. In the end, though, it wasn't enough. And there's a tough lesson to be learned through this experience.

A picture is worth a thousand words🏆 pic.twitter.com/ebZyde3BxD

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 23, 2025

Notre Dame is on the right track, but a recruiting uptick is needed

Notre Dame's 2024 run showed that it has the right coach to run the program in the modern era of college football. Marcus Freeman's messaging and motivational tactics have worked and taken root, as evidenced by Notre Dame's impressive run of winning 13 games in a row, including a nine-game stretch of double-digit wins and getting great play from many "next men up" due to injury.

The way Notre Dame was put together and motivated was good enough to get to the title game but not win it. I cannot see how anyone could argue that throughout the night the talent disparity of the Buckeyes having a 13-man advantage in the 5-star prospect ratings didn't tilt the game in their favor eventually deciding the game.

I admire the way Notre Dame's staff has identified lower-rated prospects who develop quickly into playmakers. But that won't be enough to win Notre Dame's next title. More elite star power right out of high school will be needed. Period.

The good news is that it's fair to think that Notre Dame's great run this year led by a coach that has made Notre Dame fun and cool again will lead to more elite recruiting wins moving forward.

Recruiting star rankings aren't all that matter, but they matter a great deal and the Irish just found this out the hard way on the biggest stage in the sport.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

Notre Dame 2024: A Season of Success Ends in Heartbreak

Notre Dame Fans Vent Frustrations After CFP Title Game Defeat

Notre Dame Was Good, But Not Good Enough to Win It All