Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY LOU SOMOGYI O ther than five-star Hawaii line- backer Manti Te'o's dramatic an- nouncement in February 2009 that he would be enrolling at Notre Dame instead of USC, waiting for uncom- mitted prospects on National Signing Day has traditionally been a letdown for the Fighting Irish the better part of 15 years. From USA Today Defensive Player of the Year Dennis Johnson selecting Kentucky over Notre Dame in 1998, to quarterback C.J. Leak stunning the Irish by switching to Wake Forest in 1999 … or running back Lorenzo Booker opting for Florida State in 2002 … or defensive tackle Gerald McCoy heading to Oklahoma in 2006 … or receiver Greg Little and lineman Chris Little pulling the switcheroo in 2007 after giving verbals to Notre Dame … or wide receiver Deontay Greenberry shifting to Houston in 2012 … Even last year when five-star defen- sive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes did ink with Notre Dame on National Signing Day to set off some temporary eupho- ria, several months later he reneged on it and enrolled at in-state UCLA. This year Notre Dame batted .200 — 1 for 5 — while waiting on Feb. 5 National Signing Day announcements: • The day started off promising when at 7:29 a.m., Ohio defensive tackle Daniel Cage faxed in his signed letter of intent to the Notre Dame foot- ball office. Cage was an 11th-hour re- cruit who hadn't even taken his official visit to the school until a midweek trek on Jan. 29 in between stops at Michi- gan State (Jan. 24) and Missouri (Jan. 31). Yet he was the second Fighting Irish player to get his signed letter into the office (punter/kicker Tyler New- some was the first at 7:19 a.m., and all 23 of which were in by 11:40 a.m.). Better Early Than Never Although admittedly torn by his decision, five- star California safety/receiver John "JuJu" Smith picked archrival USC over the Irish on National Signing Day. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS