Report: Nation’s No. 2 running back prospect picks Notre Dame

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has gotten plenty used to winning, even going back to his days at Central Michigan and Cincinnati.

However, it is not every day that you can say you have won, especially during the week following the last regular season game of the year. Yet this is precisely the feeling Kelly must be enjoying after receiving a commitment from Greg Bryant, the nation’s second-best high school running back.

After suffering through two decades of relatively lean recruiting classes partially due to more stringent than average grade requirements, Kelly has transformed the Irish into a winner on the field, and the results have blossomed into a newly found appeal in the eyes of potential recruits.

The Irish went 12-0 on the year and are poised to play Alabama in the BCS National Championship on January 7.

With Bryant’s commitment, the program has taken yet another step towards the type of sustained success that produced so many Irish dynasties in the past.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Bryant chose the Irish over Oklahoma, Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina. Five years ago, such a decision may not have been the case. He becomes the 22nd verbal commitment in Notre Dame’s recruiting class of 2013 and the whopping eighth member of the ESPN 150.

Bryant, the young man who rushed for more than 3,500 yards and 42 touchdowns in the last two seasons, should help alleviate the blow of the loss of the team’s top two rushers. After the title game, the Irish will lose running backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood.

He had originally been committed to Oklahoma, but had decided to re-visit his decision over the summer.

Snagging a top-flight recruit that had been committed to a rival school should only make things sweeter for Brian Kelly.

What do you think about this signing, Gamedayr Nation? Is Notre Dame here to stay?

Settle It! Who will win the BCS National Championship, Alabama or Notre Dame?

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