Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP Recruiting Notes one of the top linebacker hauls in the country in its 2013 recruiting class, and three of the prospects have been nominated as semifi- nalists for the 2012 Butkus Award, given to the nation's top prep player at the position — inside linebacker Alex Anzalone of Read- ing, Pa.; inside linebacker Michael Deeb of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and outside linebacker Jaylon Smith of Fort Wayne, Ind. Irish senior linebacker Manti Te'o is also up for the college version of the award, and he won the in- augural high school Butkus Award in his senior season at Punahou in Honolulu. Punahou player and Stanford in- • Notre Dame has put together side linebacker commitment Isaac Savaiinaea, who took an official visit to Notre Dame for its 20-13 victory over the Cardinal, is also listed among the semifinalists for the prestigious award. The other two linebackers in Notre Dame's class are outside linebacker Danny Mattingly of Spokane, Wash., and outside line- backer Doug Randolph of Wood- berry Forest, Va., which is where freshman safety C.J. Prosise went to high school. The Fighting Irish are still working to keep two Reading, Pa., linebacker Alex Anzalone is planning to visit Notre Dame for the Nov. 17 Wake Forest game, but Florida is making a strong push to land him as an early enrollee. of the linebackers in the group — Anzalone and Mattingly. • Anzalone, who originally committed to Ohio PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS State following its spring game prior to giving Notre Dame his pledge in early July, took an unof- ficial visit down to Florida for its game against LSU Oct. 6. He remains committed to the Irish, but decided to cancel a trip back to South Bend for the BYU game Oct. 20, which a number of Irish commits attended, due to a tight schedule, but is looking to return to campus for the Wake Forest game Nov. 17. Either way, he plans on using his official visit to Notre Dame for the postseason banquet, but has also talked to Florida about using an official visit in December as well. Anzalone, who still plans on enrolling early at