Eric Hansen

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Through the eyes of an 18-year-old, Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis never lost the magic.

Irish quarterback recruit Dayne Crist says he knows this, because his conversations with Weis are never laced with desperation or loaded with spin control or have much to do with football at all.

“In my most recent conversation with him, the majority of it was about family,” Crist said. “We just like to keep in contact. The best contact is getting to know more about each other as people, more so than player-coach.”

Same as it ever was.

That’s not to say Crist and the other committed Notre Dame recruits, which currently constitute the nation’s No. 1 class less than a month before national signing day, are oblivious to last year’s 3-9 record, the unusually large exodus from the sophomore class and all the fictional and real accounts of Weis’ missteps on and off the football field.

“All the recruits, we talk to each other. And all the losing was a little tough to watch,” Crist said. “But again all of us in the back of our minds see the big picture and we see what's coming.”

So what would turning the losing of last season around look like? Some of the signs are obvious. Some are subtle. Some have yet to unfold. But make no mistake, this is the offseason in which Notre Dame will either begin an ascension toward lasting national prominence or a fall towards an epic meltdown and most likely a new coaching regime.

With Weis, there are rarely, if ever, shades of gray. Here's a six-step plan to give the Irish their best fighting chance at success next season.

STEP ONE
Admitting there’s a problem. Weis did admit publicly before the season ended that he didn’t do a good job of developing the younger players en masse, made mistakes with regard to the structure of practices and needed to reinvent himself as a college football coach.

“That impressed me a lot,” said Irish offensive line recruit Trevor Robinson, one of two early enrollees (Jan. 15) in the class. “I mean I think it's important to his players to be humble and for someone of his kind of stature and his presence to say he thinks he could do things differently or do things better. I think that's always a positive for anybody.”

STEP TWO
Finish strong in recruiting. It’s a battle that’s as important in reality as it is perceptually. And so far, Weis isn’t just winning it, he’s overwhelming. The only renege thus far has been Buford (Ga.) defensive lineman Omar Hunter. But instead of that shaking the other recruits’ confidence, it has seemed to galvanize them and bring them closer to each other and the program.

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“As soon as I heard about him just kind of falling back and thinking about whether he really wanted to be with us, a lot of the guys we talked to him and we talked amongst ourselves,” Irish defensive line recruit Brandon Newman said. “We kind felt like if he did come back to Notre Dame after that, it would be kind of weird. We have a big thing after you commit, you should stick with it. After he kind of pulled back, we don't know he's for us. If there's any doubt in his mind at all -- and no bad stuff against him -- but he's not for Notre Dame.”

Added tight end recruit Kyle Rudolph, “I think everybody was skeptical with Omar's decision. They said he really wasn't ready when he made his decision. Everybody's kind of feeling the same way. If you're not ready, there's no reason to commit. When I committed, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I didn't take any visits after that. I cut off all communications. When people call and try to change your mind, it’s real simple, you hang up.”

STEP THREE
The third step is taking a look at staff changes. The screaming need is for someone to take charge of special teams, a duty that was shared and largely botched by Weis and all nine assistants. There is not a good blend of collegiate experience and youth. It leans too heavily on Weis to control rather than to trust. It’s uneven with regard to recruiting prowess as well. There is no need for massive turnover, but tweaking is a sign of progress -- especially when it comes to special teams.

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