SOUTH BEND, Ind. - With three losses in his last four games, Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis is no doubt receiving lots of unsolicited advice.

Much of that probably has to do with ideas ranging from how to fix an ailing running game to what he should do with his future. The following, however, are just a few helpful hints on how to better an area in which Weis has shown consistent success, and that’s recruiting.

Close strong
If there is a fifth year for Weis in South Bend, he can get an early start on placating a souring fan base by pulling off a big win in January, and no, we’re not talking about a bowl game, although that’s not a bad idea either.

Weis has landed top-10 classes since arriving in 2005, but he’s done it by compiling most of that talent early in the recruiting cycle, not late.

Why does it matter when talent is stockpiled? Because many of the nation’s elite players tend to hold off on visits and decisions until after their high school seasons end, meaning late announcements.

Florida and USC often enter the final weeks of the recruiting race with a number of high-profile players still on their boards. And Urban Meyer and Pete Carroll also have a habit of landing those superstars.

There wouldn’t be much wrong with copying those two elite programs.

Land linemen
One of those players Notre Dame was interested in late in the cycle a few years ago was a defensive tackle by the name of Gerald McCoy. McCoy ended up at Oklahoma, and just a few days ago, a postcard arrived from the school’s sports information department touting him for All-America honors.

McCoy is one of a handful of high-profile defensive line misses the Irish have suffered. Omar Hunter last year committed to ND but instead signed with Florida. And Marvin Austin two years ago landed at North Carolina.

The Irish had a group of overachievers along their line this year, and its inability to apply pressure or consistently stop the run showed.

Bottom line: Notre Dame needs difference-makers at defensive tackle.

If new assistants are hired, think recruiting
Weis is considered one of the best recruiting head coaches in college football, along with Meyer, Carroll and Texas’ Mack Brown.

He has some outstanding recruiters on his staff. But there also are some key areas that aren’t being tapped like they could be, namely Texas and Florida.

It’s been said that when compiling a staff, a coach should hire sound football guys when looking at coordinators, and think heavily about recruiting when hiring position coaches. If there are changes made among the assistants, Weis needs to look at coaches who have proven track records in recruiting.

Jump on juniors
The class Notre Dame is currently assembling won’t rank as high as last year, when it signed the nation’s No. 2 group.

Because ND finished 3-9, much of last year’s recruiting from September through signing day was spent on holding together that highly acclaimed group, and the amount of time available to work on juniors just wasn’t there.

This year, the staff got a good jump on the group that will sign in 2010, and could be in line to sign a stellar group. But with questions coming about Weis’ future, Notre Dame’s coaches again face the task of spending time holding on to their committed players.

Speed, speed, speed
It isn’t just at the skill positions where Notre Dame needs to continue to stockpile speed. It’s everywhere.

It was two years ago, but Notre Dame’s Sugar Bowl loss to LSU showed just how far the gap was between ND and one of the nation’s elite programs when it came to athleticism. Weis knows that, and he’s done a good job of addressing it.

But he needs more. Across the board.

Recruiting chatter
Notre Dame target Chris Bonds, a defensive lineman from Columbia, S.C., recently picked Alabama over the Irish. ...USC commit Byron Moore, made an official visit to ND for the Syracuse game. Moore told Rivals.com that he remains 100 percent committed to the Trojans. ...Also in town for the loss to the Orange were Honolulu linebacker Monti Te’o, one of the nation’s premier players, and San Diego fullback Tyler Gaffney.

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