FOOTBALL CLASS OF 2006: Notre Dame still awaiting 3 decisions
By JOE HETTLER
Sports Writer
Three coaches and many months of recruiting later, Notre Dame is still waiting.
Later today, several of the Notre Dame's top football recruits — including Lorenzo Booker, Dedrick Harrington and Rhema McKnight — will announce where they will being playing football next fall.
Despite the coaching controversy late last year, the Irish have done very well recruiting so far, according to recruit analyst Max Emfinger.
"I think they're making up a lot of ground," said Emfinger. "I've got them 15th in the country. I think it's great for getting a late start and losing a lot of momentum because the period of time when they didn't have a coach."
Today is the first day high school seniors can sign a letter of intent to receive a scholarship to play college football. Several players have already verbally committed to the Irish but nothing is binding until they sign their official letter of intent.
So far, most recruiting analysts haven't been blown away by Notre Dame's early commitments but the Irish can still vastly improve their recruiting class by landing a player such as Booker.
Booker, rated by many experts as the best running back in the country, has narrowed his choices down to USC, UCLA, Washington, Florida State and Notre Dame. Booker will be a difference maker wherever he goes, says Emfinger.
"He's a super player," said Emfinger. "He's awesome. He could very well play running back. I've always felt he'd be better utilized as a slot receiver because of his size. But you've got to be able to get the ball into his hands because he can make a difference."
According to SuperPrep recruiting analyst Allen Wallace, new Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham is the only reason Booker is considering playing for Notre Dame at this point in the recruiting process.
"It's because of [Willingham's] presence that he has the ability to sign or even go after someone like Lorenzo Booker who would not been considering ND at this stage in the game," said Wallace. "If he gets Lorenzo Booker, that will be the defining stamp made by Ty Willingham. That will be the key recruit of all the recruits in the entire class."
Booker will announce his decision tonight at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNNews.
The Irish also have a very good chance of inking wide receiver and safety Harrington. Harrington, rated by most recruiting analysts as one of the top 50 players in the nation, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and can play almost anywhere on the field.
"He's a versatile athlete. Right now we have him penciled in as a wide receiver but he can play other positions depending upon what a program needs," said Wallace.
Harrington will choose from either Missouri or Notre Dame.
Wide receiver McKnight had previously ruled Notre Dame out but after visiting the campus has the Irish as a possible choice. McKnight is another outstanding recruit that could greatly help this year's recruiting class.
"He's a very good wide receiver prospect and he's ranked as the ninth best wide receiver in the United States [by SuperPrep]," said Wallace. "He's very serious about UCLA and Washington is another strong possibility."
While waiting for these three players to commit, the Irish have been busy getting verbal commitments from some of their other top prospects from around the country.
Maurice Stovall is considered one of the top two wide-outs in the nation by many experts.
"This is a big, big commitment because he's a big receiver," said Emfinger. "They've got to have big receivers come in. [He] can play both sides of the ball, and will return punts and kickoffs. He might be better on defense than offense. He made 11 interceptions, but nobody threw in his direction."
Defensive end Travis Leitko is another huge potential signing for the Irish. Leitko runs a 4.8 second 40-yard dash and may be able to see significant playing time early in his career.
"[He's] a great defensive end," said Emfinger. " He was double teamed all year long, [but] still made big plays."
As recently as Tuesday the Irish also received a verbal commitment from running back and linebacker Nick Schiccatano who should see considerable playing time on both offense and defense.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 6, 2002
