Omar Hunter has decided he doesn’t want to play for Notre Dame.

According to Hunter’s head coach Jess Simpson, it was a tough call to make a change of heart and had more to do with distance than anything else. Hunter’s character meant that he is not one that would easily change face.

“Omar is one of the best players we have had come through Buford High School,” Simpson said. “He is probably a better person than a player. He has so much humility and is a great teammate. He is a very unselfish kid and is a whole lot of fun to coach.

“His decommitment has been a real tough thing on him. He was sold on Notre Dame and they did an awesome job of recruiting him. The thing that he told me was that he wanted to be closer to home and a place where his parents can watch him. In the end he just thought in the South was going to be a better fit for him.”

For Hunter, it was an early decision, one that may have been made in haste and actually a surprise to him and others close to Hunter at the time.

“I committed to Notre Dame four or five months ago,” Hunter said. “I went there on my visit and my intentions were to commit to Michigan. I fell in love with Notre Dame when I was there and I liked the coaching staff and facilities and that won me over.”

It was a little more than distance that weighed into his decision, but he is certain he will not be playing for Notre Dame next season.

“Just watching Notre Dame, their style and how they played,” Hunter said as reasons for making the switch. “It doesn’t really fit with the way I play. I am not really sure about the coaching staff there, I know they are good guys and I love them, but I am not comfortable with the decision I made. I am officially decommitting from Notre Dame.”

For now there are three schools in the race, two which are geographically close to Buford.

“I am definitely looking at USC, Florida, and Auburn, those schools that have kept in touch with me,” Hunter said. “Those are the schools I am looking at. This dead time I have been looking around and see what I like.”

First and foremost, good luck to the kid. This is a real bummer for Notre Dame fans. Hunter is a beast of a DL prospect who has, apparently, looked like the best player on the field during the Under-Armour All-American Game practice week. And Lord knows ND needs a few studs in the interior of the DL right now.

That said, something doesn’t add up here. He’s apparently said that he wants to play closer to home, but then lists Southern Cal as one of his new “top 3 finalists?” Last I checked, Southern Cal was in Southern California, which is a long freaking plane ride from Georgia. Besides that, why, if he really wants to play close to home, hasn’t Georgia been getting more consideration? They look like a nice program with a very good HC to me.

I’ve got a funny feeling about where Omar finally ends up. And I just think it’s unfortunate. That particular place is lead by a guy putting together quite the track record of lies and misinformation, and you hate to see good guys get tripped up by that.

Another funny feeling I have: Hunter may not have actually “decommitted” any more than I “resigned” from my first job here in Chicago. I get the feeling that “you’re looking, we’re looking” policy that Weis now has went into very full effect this week.

A lot of people had a feeling that all of this would happen. We heard the same rumors everyone else was hearing weeks ago. But we didn’t get too wound up about it because, ultimately, it’s a bunch of 17 and 18 year old kids making the biggest decision of their lives. There are going to be a few “gotcha” moments here and there. So if I were you, I wouldn’t worry too much about any more defections from this class. They probably wont happen anyway, but even if they were to happen, what’s worrying going to do to improve that situation?

Good luck, Omar. Sorry you wont get to celebrate a National Championship with the Irish.

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