Notre Dame Football: Ranking 3 biggest recruiting misses of Brian Kelly era

2. Ronald Darby, CB

While Kelly was heavily involved in Notre Dame’s 2010 recruiting class, the 2011 class served as his first opportunity to distance himself from former head coach Charlie Weis. The class as a whole was very successful, featuring seven athletes who would eventually make their ways to the NFL.

However, five-star cornerback Ronald Darby would’ve been the Irish’s highest-rated recruit at No. 25 in the country. Initially committed to the Irish in April, 2011, Darby would decommit shortly after his performance in the 2012 Under Armour All-American Game. Darby logged his first official visit with Florida State shortly after, eventually enrolling at FSU in June, 2012.

While primarily playing backup to Xavier Rhodes and Nick Waisome, Darby made enough noise to earn himself ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2012. However, 2013 would bring about even more success for Darby and his Florida State teammates as the Seminoles went on to take down Auburn in the 2014 National Championship game.

A strong junior season would be all the Buffalo Bills needed to see from Darby before using their second round pick on him in the 2015 NFL Draft. As for the Irish, Darby’s presence would have been a great addition to a defense that allowed 42 points to Alabama in their own National Championship game.