December 1, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Charlie Weis reacts on the sidelines against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the third quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 59-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

In 2012 Charlie Weis made almost double what Brian Kelly made from the University of Notre Dame. Last season Coach Kelly made $1,088,179 as the Head Football Coach at Notre Dame. Charlie Weis received a payment of $2,054,744 from the Irish including his salary from Kansas.

When Weis was fired in 2009 he received $6,638,403 right after. He has scheduled payments from Notre Dame annually through December 2015. After it is all said and done, The University of Notre Dame will have paid Weis almost 19 million dollars ($18,966,867 to be exact).

This just goes to show how very bad the contract extension that Weis received was and is. Notre Dame jumped the gun too early like times before and gave an average coach a huge contract. Don’t get me wrong Weis was a good recruiter and very good offensively, but when you can’t stop anyone it’s hard to win football games.

As for Coach Kelly he is still in the works with Notre Dame on getting himself a new contract, which after taking a team to the national championship game is deserved, but it still needs to be within reason. This upcoming year and 2014 are the years that Notre Dame should maintain what they did last year. BCS bowl bids will now be expected and nothing less. It was like that before, but now that expectation is much more realistic.

Oct. 6, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back George Atkinson III (4) runs for a touchdown as Miami Hurricanes cornerback Antonio Crawford (39) defends in the third quarter at Soldier Field. Notre Dame won 41-3. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

CBSSports confirmed what Notre Dame fans already know; George Atkinson is one of the most physically impressive players in college football. Atkinson was included on a list of the 20 craziest athletes in college football. The list includes stars like Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel and Marqise Lee.

CBSSports.com Senior Writer Bruce Feldman wrote:

“The reserve Irish running back has good size at 215 pounds to go with blazing speed. Last year, he ran a 10.36 100-meter dash at the Big East track championships. Even though it was a wind-aided time, it wasn’t much over the legal-limit and shows a gear Notre Dame football fans hadn’t seen much of in a few years.”

Feldman definitely hits the nail on the head with his analysis of the Junior Running Back. However, Atkinson has failed to develop as a technician and a student of the game. This year, he will be leaned on heavily as the Starting Running Back. He will be leaned upon even more early on while Freshman Running Backs Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston develop.

Atkinson has always been a 5-star athlete. He has electrified the Fighting Irish with his kickoff returns and his long touchdown runs. But, it is the tough yards that Atkinson has failed to get. If Atkinson has a success season, it will be because he has learned to run inside with power when it counts.

Apr 20, 2013; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Carlo Calabrese (44), defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, and safety Matthias Farley (41) celebrate after an interception by Farley in the second quarter of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish coaching staff extended an offer to 2015 Long Beach Poly Defensive Back Iman Marshall. Marshall adds the University of Notre Dame to an impressive offer list that includes Southern California, Florida State and Washington.

247Sports is the only recruiting service that currently has rankings for the 2015 class. Marshall is ranked as the 50th best recruit in the class. He is the 5th best Cornerback. Marshall is rated as the 8th best player in the state of California.

Marshall checks in at 6’2″ 195. This frame makes it seem like he will eventually play Safety as opposed to Cornerback at the collegiate level. Marshall is only 16 years old. He will probably grow a few more inches before his Freshman year.

Notre Dame historically has not done well at Long Beach Poly High School. Players from this school typically head to USC. However, Notre Dame did land Freddie Parish IV under Tyrone Willingham. Parish eventually transferred to Stephen F. Austin after his Sophomore year.

Marshall appears to be leaning towards selecting the Trojans of Southern California at this point in his recruitment. Based on information available and USC’s history with the high school, Marshall will likely make a commitment before the beginning of his Senior season.