Irish Get Verbal #4
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
July 30, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind - Notre Dame's early recruiting train continues to roll as the Irish picked up verbal #4 in the form of Zachary Giles.   Giles is the third offensive line recruit for Notre Dame and the second top 15 offensive lineman to pledge to the Irish.  He committed to the Irish Friday morning and the Internet world found out about the commitment late last night.

Giles did not want the verbal to be public which is why we waited until he said something regarding the issue to report anything.  He told Rivals100.com that he indeed committed to Notre Dame.  Late Saturday night internet message boards had messages regarding his commitment. Phil Grosz of Blue and White Illustrated and Tom Lemming were the first two on the scene and others followed.

Giles had hoped to let the Boston College coaching staff know of his decision himself as reported by Rivals100, but he did not get his wish.   This is similar to the Gary Godsey commitment of two years ago when Gary committed to Notre Dame on his visit but didn't want it public.  Zach wanted a press conference and wanted to have the hoopla that a lot of other prime time recruits get, but now he won't get his wish.

While it is a shame that the situation unfolded as it did for Zachary, his commitment is a great addition to Notre Dame.  Notre Dame now has three top of the line offensive line recruits.  Mark Levoir is considered one of the elite offensive linemen in the country and in Sporting News' preseason college football preview he is the only recruit rated by all the experts polled.  Aldo De La Garza, while not nationally ranked, is a beast.  He is a weight room warrior and might be one of the strongest recruits that Notre Dame has had in a long while.

Overall, the recruiting front for Notre Dame is on a roll.  They now have three very talented offensive linemen to go along with Jeff Thompson who is rated as a top 10 defensive tackle who may also get moved to offensive line.  Notre Dame is much more advanced this year than they were last year at this time.  Last year Notre Dame had only one commitment prior to the banquet weekend.   This year however, they have four and the calendar has not read August yet.

This is a great catch for Notre Dame.  The Irish were shut out last year in the offensive linemen department after recruiting an entire line in the 98-99 recruiting season.  They are well on their way to another complete line and are still in the thick of things for Blake Larsen who is another prime talent

Kyle will return tomorrow and recruiting updates will resume.  Check back tomorrow for the latest in the Notre Dame recruiting world as well as the latest in Notre Dame news.