Notre Dame football slipping for top safety, struggles continue to close on recruits

It's getting to the point where you have to wonder what's going on with Notre Dame football recruiting. There just doesn't seem to be much going right these days. It's no longer just the wide receiver recruiting that keeps seeing setbacks.

Make no mistake about it, the Fighting Irish are still in the race for the top safety in the class. But being "in the race" feels like a big dropoff from when they first offered Bralan Womack. Back then, they seemed like the instant favorite.

Womack named the Notre Dame football program among his favorites not that long ago. However recruiting analyst Tom Loy made it clear that while Marcus Freeman and company are still in the running, they're running behind the pack.

Notre Dame football looks to be falling back in race for Bralan Womack

Loy gave his assessment for 247Sports and named off the favorites to land the 4-star safety out of Mississippi. It seems as though he's changing his tune from earlier in the summer.

"You got Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame. In fact, I would actually put them in that order 1-5," Loy said.

If he truly thinks that the Irish are running fifth among the top five, it would be a bit of a surprise since Loy put in a Crystal Ball with 247Sports for ND to land Womack back in June. So did IrishIllustrated writer Eric Thomas.

It appears things have changed in the last three months. While Freeman and company are still technically in the running, whatever pushed them to the top when they offered has worn off.

That is unfortunately an event the Notre Dame football team has seen a lot of since the summer began. They're having real problems closing the deal while being among the favorites for some of the best prospects in the country.

Whether it's NIL money not being up to snuff,. whether it's guys deciding South Bend isn't where they want to spend their college days. Something is going on. And now, Notre Dame football is seeing it happen outside of wide receiver recruiting. That needs to stop.