out that ND's philosophy on recruiting just isn't going to open the door to a whole lot of 5 stars in the future. He compared the football team's lack of interest in going after 5*s to the basketball team's lack of interest in one and dones. My interpretation was that if the player doesn't seem to have an interest in completing his degree at ND before turning pro. ND just isn't going to put much effort into recruiting them.
What this means is that the talent pool shrinks that much more. This also means outside of a year when the stars align and USC, Stanford, the ACC and one of the big 10 east teams on the schedule are weak, 4-7 wins is more likely than 9-12.
Accepting this is the fate of the team, then, at least on offense, the need for Kelly/Long to reinvent themselves is even more necessary. Whether it's going full air raid or adopting some sort of triple option, ND is going to struggle against elite programs if they are unwilling to bring in the same talent. It's an admirable stance, but expectations (and ticket prices) should reflect this pillar.