Catching up on the Recruiting Trail

Nick Shepkowski, Domer Sports Report

Notre Dame Football
Recruiting

It's still very early in the world of college football recruiting. Early in the sense that most players are still taking their time in making a final decision as to where they will spend their time after high school, but late in a sense that if you (as a school) are not on somebody's watch list then you better get kicking.

For those who are unaware, the Fighting Irish currently have five commitments for the incoming class of 2010 . Is it loaded with talent or is it on its way to being an elite class? That part is tough to say exactly; the groundwork is there with one five star defensive player in place, but there is plenty of work to still be done.

A quick rundown of the class so far:

Bennett Jackson: 6'1'', 165 lbs. - WR, Hazlet (Raritan), NJ
Seen as a three star recruit by most, Jackson has spent time both catching and running the football in high school. He will have to get bigger to be much of an impact but from everything I have read he seems to be along the path of a George West.

Christian Lombard: 6'5'', 290 lbs. - OL, Palatine (Fremd), IL
Was the first Irish commit back in January and chose Notre Dame over such rivals as Michigan, Purdue, and Stanford as well as plenty of others. Lombard committed to Notre Dame at the Army All American Game this past January, a game he will participate in next year.


Chris Martin: 6'4'', 240 lbs. - DE, Princeton (Hun School), NJ
If Manti T'eo was the first major defensive recruit that Charlie Weis was able to bring to South Bend then consider Martin to be the second. Martin was said to be the "most physically impressive defensive player" by one scout in attendance at a recent Nike summer camp on the campus of Stanford University. From the way people talk it seems that Martin has the potential do things at defensive end that haven't been seen at Notre Dame since Justin Tuck was on campus.

Daniel Smith: 6'4'', 205 lbs. - WR, South Bend (Clay), IN
The hometown choice to fill one of the available scholarships has the size to compete at the division one level but could use to get a step or two quicker with his fastest 40 time coming in at 4.6 seconds. The Irish landed Smith who had several offers from Big Ten teams.

Alex Welch: 6'5'', 225 lbs. - TE, Cincinnati (Elder), OH
Consider to be one of the top tight ends in this years class, Welch was offered by nearly every school under the sun. Its too early to tell if he will be able to step in immediately and play a role in the fall of 2010. If he is, think back to 2005 when Anthony Fasano, John Carlson, and Marcus Freeman all earned valuable time for a Notre Dame offense that was lights out good. I'm not saying to expect Welch to be able to perform at that level right away but if he can show the ability to block when he has to and be able to catch the occassional pass or two, this may end up being the biggest offensive commitment in the 2010 class.

Hopefully, that catches you up on where the Irish sit in the recruiting world at this point of the summer. Lots of camps are coming up soon where players make unofficial visits and, in turn, many commitments come about as well. Hopefully, only more good news comes in during the next few weeks for the Irish.

Written By:
Nick Shepkowski
Bleacher Report
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