By Brian Hamilton
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Rob Ianello has long been Charlie Weis' top lieutenant for all things recruiting, so it makes every bit of sense that he has been tapped to run things at Notre Dame while the search is on for Weis' replacement.
Weight-room advances and skill refining this December run secondary to reassuring the 18 high school prospects who have committed to play for the Irish, so as not to hit a talent gulf three or four years down the line. According to Notre Dame, it's so far, so good on that front.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Rob Ianello has long been Charlie Weis' top lieutenant for all things recruiting, so it makes every bit of sense that he has been tapped to run things at Notre Dame while the search is on for Weis' replacement.
Weight-room advances and skill refining this December run secondary to reassuring the 18 high school prospects who have committed to play for the Irish, so as not to hit a talent gulf three or four years down the line. According to Notre Dame, it's so far, so good on that front.
"You have a group of guys that have already verbally committed to
come to school here," Ianello said. "They see the great virtues of
coming to the University of Notre Dame and have picked it for all the
right reasons.
"During this interim process, I feel confident that there's a large group of that young men that will still stay and come to the University of Notre Dame. Anybody that might be wavering might have been wavering no matter what the circumstances might have been."
That is backed up by reports in the past weeks and then on Tuesday from Irish Illustrated and the South Bend Tribune, both of whom cased the 2010 recruiting class and uncovered little ship-jumping.
The most significant question is five-star defensive end Chris Martin, Rivals.com's No. 16 player nationally and the likeliest of the bunch to sign elsewhere in the wake of Weis' dismissal.
That would be a sizable loss for a program in desperate need of defensive line difference-makers. But Notre Dame expects to carry on otherwise without much consternation in this period of uncertainty.
"There's always some risk, without question, but I like our position better than I think most universities are in this time," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said. "The young men that picked this place have picked this place. They were attracted to the coaches they met and no doubt were attracted to coach Weis and have an affinity for him.
"But as we've talked to them (Monday) and will continue to talk to them, we're hearing the message we would expect to hear, which is, 'I'm very sorry to hear that, but you still offer the things that attracted me to the university, and so I'm still coming.'"
"During this interim process, I feel confident that there's a large group of that young men that will still stay and come to the University of Notre Dame. Anybody that might be wavering might have been wavering no matter what the circumstances might have been."
That is backed up by reports in the past weeks and then on Tuesday from Irish Illustrated and the South Bend Tribune, both of whom cased the 2010 recruiting class and uncovered little ship-jumping.
The most significant question is five-star defensive end Chris Martin, Rivals.com's No. 16 player nationally and the likeliest of the bunch to sign elsewhere in the wake of Weis' dismissal.
That would be a sizable loss for a program in desperate need of defensive line difference-makers. But Notre Dame expects to carry on otherwise without much consternation in this period of uncertainty.
"There's always some risk, without question, but I like our position better than I think most universities are in this time," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said. "The young men that picked this place have picked this place. They were attracted to the coaches they met and no doubt were attracted to coach Weis and have an affinity for him.
"But as we've talked to them (Monday) and will continue to talk to them, we're hearing the message we would expect to hear, which is, 'I'm very sorry to hear that, but you still offer the things that attracted me to the university, and so I'm still coming.'"
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The loss of Chris Martin hurt, but the Irish gained defensive tackle Louis Nix, who is a four-star recruit from Florida. ESPN's recruiting website has him ranked ahead of Martin.
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