Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY ANDREW IVINS In college football recruiting, rela- tionships oftentimes are everything. Whether it's a simple handshake or an exchange of a message, every interac- tion counts. That's why when Notre Dame's Mike Sanford called El Dorado Hills (Calif.) Oak Ridge three-star quarter- back Ian Book in mid-June, the Wash- ington State commit didn't hesitate to pick up the phone. "He told me it was going to get seri- ous," Book said looking back on the conversation. "And it did." Sanford wasn't calling Book to check up on him. The first-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach was reaching out to Book to recruit him just like he did when he was call- ing plays at Boise State, and the result was an eventual flip from Washington State to Notre Dame. "I really liked Coach Sanford when he was at Boise," Book said. "We started to build a relationship, but then he went to Notre Dame, and we just talked every once in a while. I re- ally wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but then one day he called me and it got pretty serious. Offensive Coordinator Mike Sanford Lands His Quarterback COMMITMENT PROFILE IAN BOOK Book originally committed to Washington State, but once Sanford called him the Irish became the team to beat. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS