Football: Irish ink 18 for class of 2006
By: JOE HETTLER
Sports Writer
Signing Day ended with a bittersweet taste for Notre Dame on Wednesday when Lorenzo Booker chose Florida State University rather than USC, Washington and Notre Dame.
According to ESPN, the National-Player-of-the-Year had initially picked Notre Dame before changing his mind about an hour before his press conference.
The Irish also lost Diedrick Harrington earlier in the day when the linebacker signed with Missouri. However, according to Blue & Gold Illustrated, Notre Dame did sign Rhema McKnight, the third best receiver in the country. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday night, however, Notre Dame had yet to receive a fax from McKnight confirming his commitment. The sports information department said they should receive some type of confirmation from McKnight today saying whether or not he will play for the Irish next season.
If McKnight signs with Notre Dame, he will join Maurice Stovall, rated as the second best receiver in the country and a first team USA Today prep All-American selection, to create perhaps the best wide receiver core signed in the country this year.
Stovall brings the Irish a big, fast receiver that should fit into their new offense scheme very well.
"When you look at Maurice, first of all you see a trend in modern day football toward big explosive receivers," said Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham. "He fits that bill. He's a young man that has that kind of range, has that kind of speed, and, hopefully, has the maturity to come in and help us in the program as fast as possible."
Stovall leads an Irish class of 2006 that should still be one of the best in the nation, despite being unable to sign Booker.
"We are very excited about the young men we will introduce into our program and hopefully they will be strong, strong elements to our success," said Willingham. "I think it was extremely important to have that group of committed young men in place."
Overall, Notre Dame signed five defensive linemen, four offensive linemen, two tight ends, two running backs, one quarterback and two receivers. Beside McKnight and Stovall, Notre Dame inked a few other big names, such as linemen Derek Landri, Travis Letiko and Bob Morton and quarterback Chris Olsen.
Landri is a member of the Parade All-American first team, and was rated as the Defensive Player-of-the-Year by recruiting analyst Max Emfinger.
"Landri's my defensive player of the year," said Emfinger. "That's about the biggest accolade you can get. He hasn't been blocked in high school. He's totally unbelievable. I've never seen a player that's played high school ball like him."
Travis Leitko, a member of the USA Today prep All-America second team, was called "a great defensive end" by Emfinger, and has the chance to see considerable playing time next season.
Morton joined Leitko as a second team USA Today All-American pick, and is one of the top 100 players in the country, according to The Sporting News.
"[He's the] best center in the country," said Emfinger. "I've seen them all, and he's the best."
One of the recruits that gave a late verbal commitment was Olsen, who considered Iowa and North Carolina State seriously after former head coach George O'Leary resigned. Willingham feels that Olsen is a great fit for the new offense that Notre Dame plans to implement next season.
"What we have is a young man that seems to fit very well into the needs of our system," said Willingham. "You look for a man that has a live arm and excellent mental capacity to be able to handle the adjustments and changes we will place on his shoulders, and I think Chris has that ability."
The Irish also inked lineman James Bonelli, who was a member of the all-Californian Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Team as a senior, and the lead blocker for Booker.
Notre Dame also got the Gatorade Player-of-the-Year from Iowa, offensive lineman Scott Raridon.
A pair of tight ends will join Notre Dame next season as well. Anthony Fasano is rated as the 12th best end in the country, and Marcus Freeman is considered by many experts to be the fastest tight end in the nation.
"[Fasano is] a great tight end, a big guy that runs real well," said Emfinger. "I think he'll be a real good player for them. [Freeman] had a phenomenal year [and] he had a lot of catches. He's a diamond in the rough, [and] might be the fastest tight end in the country."
Many experts have commented on how well Notre Dame did with this class. Willingham, though, has his own evaluation to still complete. And that may not happen for a few years.
"I will leave it to the experts to evaluate how good the class is," said Willingham. "My evaluation usually takes place about two years or three years down the road — or maybe even as many as four years down the road — when you determine how many championships you've won and how many bowl games you've been to, and that usually determines whether the class was a good class or not good one or not."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, February 7, 2002
