Arrested Development?

Tennessee.  T-tennessee.  Tennessee.  T-tennessee-Lord I really been real stressed.  Down and out, losin' ground...

Yep, those are lyrics from Arrested Development's classic 90's rap hit "Tennessee".   I remember back when legendary ND band Sexual Chocolate used to bust out A.D. tunes at Acoustic Cafe on Thursday nights.   That ruled.

Anyway, why the brief jump into 90's rap culture?  ND recruiting in TN is picking up, and looking like it's a hot bed for future Irish talent, much like New Jersey has been.  Cutliffe may have gone back to UT, but Weis' recruiting in the area hasn't suffered at all.  In fact, it's just getting going.

First, ND picked up all-around stud athlete and best-name-ever-for-a-player Golden Tate.  Golden is Tennessee's Mr. Football 2006.  That was an AWESOME recruit for this year's class.

The two guys behind Tate in the Mr. Football voting are Chris Donald and Harrison Smith, and both are heavily considering the Irish, along with their local state school. 

According to the web site GoVols (and NDNation), it looks like Harrison Smith will choose to be Irish today at 3PM EST.  Of course, 'leaning' doesn't always mean a commitment, but we're hoping it proves true today.

Smith is a smart, aggressive and instinctual player that would really help shore up ND's backfield, and would likely get playing time early.

Chris Donald, the #1 rated LB according to Rivals.com is the other big TN prospect that ND is attempting to bring into this future-top-5 class.  Donald's film on Rivals can be described as 'sick', as the guy is just a natural born athlete.  I mean, the kid can MOVE. 

Landing either one of these players along with Golden Tate would be a great coup for C-dub over the in-state power.  Landing both would just be like...a game of horseshoes!  For some strange reason it had to be, he guided me, to ND...

Even locals from the band "Arrested Development" would prefer that Donald and Harrison make ND their future team.