Academics lures recruits
By TIM CASEY
Sports Writer
Part of any college coach's job is to be a salesman, to convince players that his school best suits a recruit. Here at Notre Dame, there are some built in advantages.
Just ask Steve Addazio, Notre Dame's tight ends coach, who convinced Lorenzo Crawford, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound receiver from Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson, N.J., to commit to the Irish over the weekend.
Originally, Crawford had verbally committed to North Carolina in August.
Then, after visiting Notre Dame on the first weekend of December, he had second thoughts.
"They [Notre Dame] weren't even in my list of top six schools over the summer," said Crawford, who caught 37 passes for 858 yards with 14 touchdowns while leading Paterson Catholic to its first state championship this fall. "I knew nothing about Notre Dame. Then I learned more about the school. When I learned that nearly 99 percent of athletes graduate in four years, it was something. And you can pretty much get a job anywhere with a degree from there."
Sound familiar? Almost every recruit that has committed this year or in the past has alluded to the academic side of Notre Dame as its main attraction. Or at least a distinction that separates Notre Dame from the Floridas and Nebraskas of the world.
With the on the field struggles of the past few years, the "we're preparing you for 40 years, not just the next four" line is the essence of what Notre Dame has to offer.
"Kids are fairly savvy these days," said Allen Wallace, a recruiting analyst for CNNSI.com. "They're thinking about the overall school as opposed to just the football program. They may have dreams of playing in the NFL but they know it's a long shot.
"There certainly are some players that are looking at other schools and may not want to choose academics. They are still good kids. But it's a big world out there. There are still many recruits that care a lot about their future. It's to Notre Dame's benefit. The appeal of having a great academic institution can never be lost," he said.
That advantage also led the Irish to receive two more commitments over the weekend from receiver Ron Rodamer (Morgantown, W. Va.) and linebacker Derek Curry (Sealy, Texas).
Rodamer, a high school teammate of current Irish player Chris Yura, chose the Irish over Clemson on Friday, to become the fifth receiver to commit to play for Notre Dame. Rodamer joins Crawford, Jovan Witherspoon (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Omar Jenkins (Dallas, Texas) and Jerome Collins (Wheaton, Ill.) to form a loaded receiving corps.
"I felt home there [at Notre Dame]," Rodamer said. "In my head, that was where I wanted to go."
Rodamer is already familiar with the two quarterbacks that have already committed, Jared Clark (Sarasota, Fla.) and Matt Lovecchio (Oradell, N.J.). All three attended the Notre Dame summer football camp this past summer.
"That [the camp] was a good experience," said Rodamer, who is currently the starting small forward on his high school basketball team. I got to see the campus and all the coaches were there."
Curry, a 6-foot-2, 220 pounder had 140 tackles, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries in leading Sealy High School to the Texas 3-A state championship game in the fall.
With the addition of the three aforementioned players, the Irish have received 16 verbal commitments for the class of 2004. The first day for recruits to sign a letter of intent is Feb. 2.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, January 25, 2000
