Summer Visits Equal Success

By Radio Man

Common sense tells a Notre Dame fan that multiple visits to the University of Notre Dame means the likelihood that a recruit will sign with the good guys increases. This is not a trick scenario. It's just plain as day common sense. With that said, certain types of prospects will likely come to Notre Dame regardless of the extra visits they take beyond their official visit to Notre Dame. Notre Dame will be hosting several recruits for its annual Summer Football Camp in conjunction with several unofficial visitors over the course of the next three weeks. A few names to keep in mind:

Anthony LaLota, DE, New Jersey – attends The Hun School, which is an excellent academic institution. Notre Dame looks to be in good shape here. Boston College could be the competition, but LaLota has national offers from the likes of Louisiana State and Ohio State to consider as well.

Chris Watt, OG, from just outside of Chicago – does not attend a private school, but Notre Dame appears to be in a dog fight for his services with Ohio State. The Buckeyes are running out of scholarships, allegedly, and while it's likely that coach OSU head coach Jim Tressell would save a scholarship for Watt, the Buckeyes only have so much room left with a plethora of good recruits still eyeing Columbus, Ohio.

Zach Martin, OT, from Indianapolis – attends one of the better high schools in the Indy area, Bishop Chatard, and it's also one of the top football programs in the state of Indiana. Michigan will be the main competition.

Uzoma Nwachukwu (photo above), WR, Allen, Texas – speed and toughness separate the Texas wideout from most recruits. Without Texas offering, the Aggies now represent the biggest hurdle. It would not be a shock if Nwachukwu became the next Notre Dame verbal commitment. If memory serves correctly, he will be visiting South Bend next week? "Mom" is reportedly in Notre Dame's corner.

There are several other recruits that will be visiting between now and the beginning of July. The aforementioned list was just a brief overview. As always, Irish Eyes and Irish Illustrated should be a Notre Dame fan's main source for specific football recruiting information.

With that said, keep your eyes and ears out for any information that might come as a surprise on the unofficial visit recruiting trail. Surprise visitors happen each and every year. A few could be headed to South Bend in the near future…

Additionally, here's my post on The Ara Parseghian Message Board about recruiting single-parent recruits. It adds perspective to what the Notre Dame coaching staff has to do to land top-notch recruits.

Recruiting Just Rolling Along

By Radio Man

Notre Dame "should have" struggled to land more than a couple of regional-type recruits thus far. Notre Dame should have, but have not. Notre Dame recruiting is just rolling along...

You hear that? It's the sound of Greg Schiano gritting his teeth back East as Notre Dame has already secured commitments from three of New Jersey's best recruits, with another, Anthony LaLota, a strong possibility to sign with Notre Dame as well. And let it be known that Notre Dame's success in landing New Jersey recruits since head coach Charlie Weis arrived is a big reason Schiano aided in shooting down recent talks between the Irish playing the Scarlet Knights in the Meadowlands, i.e. because Notre Dame would possess even more access to New Jersey recruits. Of course the Rutgers head coach will not admit that publicly, but it is true. And no, this is not just speculation. Through private channels, that's been heard loud and clear. In short, Schiano is not real happy with Notre Dame. Tough. Deal with it.

While no school has recruited as well as Southern California during the past half dozen years, Notre Dame finally made positive movement towards catching the Trojans' talent overload via the past two recruiting classes. Adding Cierre Wood, from Pete's backyard, helps the cause move further in the proper direction. Beginning in 2009, Notre Dame will possess the horses to compete with the Trojans on a year-in and year-out basis.

Assuming Notre Dame lands Alex Bullard, the big offensive guard from just outside of Nashville, Tenn., it will make two out of three years that the Irish have secured one of the best players from the state of Tennessee. Quite frankly, that is unheard of. Coach Fulmer being on the hot seat down in Knoxville probably helped the Irish cause with Bullard to date, and hopefully it helps to push Bullard to South Bend. Bullard is set to announce his college decision tomorrow.

Who will the Irish land next? Bullard, perhaps another recruit? Notre Dame recruiting just keeps rolling along.