The difference between years prior and the C-dub years is that ND is pulling in, or in the hunt for, the very top recruits in the country.  Charlie is a tireless recruiter, on the trail whenever possible, giving his straight ahead talk trying to bring in his type of players (smart, nasty, ATHLETIC) so that in the future the kind of mismatches we saw last night won’t happen again.

And it’s working.  Check out last year’s Top 5 class.  Or this year’s (rated #1 to #12 by the major evaluation sites).

Or, look at things like the U.S. Army All-American game, where 12 major prospects will announce their decision.  In year’s past, it wasn’t even worth paying attention to as an ND fan - those players weren’t even taking a look. 

Today, ND is in the hunt for 7 out of these 12.  That’s incredible, especially given the # of top prep athletes in this class already.  Players such as Chris Donald, Ben Martin, Chris Little, Lorenzo Edwards, Robert Hughes, Matt Romine and Michael Williams are difference-makers.  And despite the game yesterday, I bet they are sensing that ND provides a great opportunity - NFL coaching, national exposure, and a rising level of talent.  Not to mention the large number of ND players you’ll see drafted, and drafted early, this year.

You can see details on this crew at:  http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=2&c=606438

I expect a few ND hats to be donned during the day, and I look forward to welcoming these new players to the Irish family.  These are the guys that will help make yesterday feel like a very, very distant memory. 

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