In the eyes of a 17 year old right now (someone born in 2000), Stanford's tradition is better than ND's. Because since 2000, Notre Dame has done nothing exceptional on the football field to make them do a double take. Stanford, on the other hand, has gotten better with each passing year since the turn of the century. Does anyone honestly think any recruit cares about 1988? Tim Brown? Rocket? Bettis? They don't have a clue who these guys are? It is ancient history to them. And in each passing year that ND is mediocre or overrated, the more the tradition fades in the autumn sun.
Notre Dame needs to win and win now. That is the only way you are going to consistently attract top HS talent. Stanford is winning. In the 7 seasons David Shaw has been at Stanford, they have had 10 or more wins in 6/7. He is 74-20. Winning pecentage of .787. That is 22 pts higher than Lou Holtz at ND. Shaw has had 3 top 10 finishes and 5 seasons in the top 12. Does anyone think Brian Kelly would have had that kind of success? No way. Even Harbaugh had Stanford at 12-1 in his 4th year there. And you are correct, Stanford has zero titles in 90 years. However, they are in the conversation at the end of each season because they rack up wins. Equanimeous St. Brown's middle brother selected Stanford, and judging by the looks of things, Amon-Ra is leaning toward them as well. Does anyone think either player cares about tradition? No, they care about success. The success of their own careers.
Notre Dame is focusing on all of the wrong things to attract elite talent. Kids want to be on a grand stage and be on a winner. Time to start winning Notre Dame.