(The following two articles were released in special bonus issues of Irish Today, which were sent to subscribers on 7/29 and 8/5.)

BORSETI IS COMMITMENT NO. 3
by Travis Donnelly

Nick Borseti, the 6-4, 220-pound linebacker from St. John's Prep (Danvers, MA), has become the first defensive player to commit to the class of 2003. I talked with Nick immediately following his decision. 

"It was a tough weekend," Borseti said. "Deciding between two good programs with two great campuses and two great coaching staffs."

So what was the deciding factor?

"I feel like at Notre Dame I have a better opportunity to play right away," Borseti said. "Virginia just brought in three linebackers last season (in their recruiting class) and I did consider that."

On Saturday, after his South Bend visit, Nick told me that he was leaning towards the Irish. Then, after pondering his choice through the weekend, he called Coach Simmons at 8:30am EST to give him his decision.

"Coach Simmons was excited and he immediately put Coach Willingham on the phone," Borseti said. "He told me that Notre Dame needs to build a new defense and I'm going to be the foundation block of that."

Borseti will play middle linebacker or 'Mike' backer, as it's referred to in the Irish system. When Nick was on campus, the coaches let him know what they expect of their linebackers.

"They want a linebacker who has good foot coordination and controls their body movement," Borseti said. "They want you to always know where you're putting your foot down, so that you're always in position to make the plays that you need to. They do bag drills and stuff like that to work on foot speed."

From here, Nick will continue working out with his teammates for the upcoming season. He is a team captain and gets his team together three times a week to run. Additionally, he spends his weekends at a local gym lifting weights.

There seem to be two styles of linebackers these days.  There are the guys that are built like safeties and play more like that and then there the old school, throwback types. Which one is Nick?

"I'm old school, Dick Butkus style," Borseti said.  "He's my man. I always patterned myself after him because I like hitting. I also like Ray Lewis, I study him constantly."

If Nick ends up like either one, I'll be very happy.  Nick should fit in well playing on those cold South Bend days. What is certain at this point is that the Irish have filled a need with a top player. That's a very good thing.


LB JOE BROCKINGTON VERBALS TO NOTRE DAME
by Travis Donnelly & Rick Schutt

A good night of sleep helped cement the decision for linebacker Joe Brockington (6-2, 215 pounds) as he chose Notre Dame over Boston College today.

A game of Sony PlayStation Football helped as well.  You see, Brockington set up a game between Notre Dame and Boston College, but he would not tell me the outcome. Brockington did tell us about the big announcement.

"It's exciting to be going to play at Notre Dame, not everyone gets a chance to play there," Brockington said. "I don't see how people that get offered by Notre Dame can pass it up."

Brockington says he loves the tradition that Notre Dame has to offer. He also likes the fact that he'll get away from home and meet new people. But the main reason he picked the Blue & Gold was the head coach.

"The big reason was Tyrone Willingham," Brockington said. "He's such a nice guy. My coach and I went on a Midwest swing of schools and Coach Willingham had just got back from vacation and he came in to speak with us. Most coaches don't have time to talk to you. We sat in Coach Willingham's office for an hour and a half straight. We talked about football and about life in general, about me graduating, he wants the best for his players."

The Notre Dame coaches have told Brockington that they want him on defense at outside linebacker. Brockington plays RB & LB at Palmyra High School in Pennsylvania.   The ND coaches have talked about his 4.56-speed in the 40, how they want him to cover RBs and jam wideouts off the line. Brockington has led his team in tackles both his sophomore and junior years.

Brockington says he plans on celebrating tonight at his cousin's house with family and friends. Then No. 4 for the Cougars of Palmyra will hit the practice field on Tuesday as his last season in high school gets underway. Then it's off to Notre Dame.

"I'm fixed, I'm not going to change my mind," Brockington said. "I'm a man of my word, if you say you're going to do something, you don't turn your back."

His high school coach, Joe Buehler, shared Brockington's enthusiasm about the decision.

"We were there (at Notre Dame) the week before last," Coach Joe Buehler said. "It was a great visit, just amazing.  For as long as I can remember I have been a Notre Dame fan and because of Joe, one of my life long dreams came true; I got to go to Notre Dame."

And what did Coach Buehler think of Coach Tyrone Willingham?

"Willingham is something special, he's a great man," Buehler said.   "You just hang on every word he says.  Joe was extremely impressed with the real interest that he had in him, about his personal life and his family, not just football.  Coach Willingham spent a lot of time with us.  When he talks, it's never about being good or better, it's always about being great."

Notre Dame Linebackers Coach Bon Simmons also played a vital role in landing this recruit for the Irish.

"We received the letter (offering Joe a scholarship) at the beginning of the summer," Buehler said.  "Coach Simmons had seen Joe and really took a liking to him.  (Coach Simmons) lobbied hard on Joe's behalf to Coach Willingham."

And how does Coach Buehler feel Brockington will fit in at Notre Dame?

"Joe Brockington is a great fit at Notre Dame," Buehler said. "He can transcend all the football opportunities into other areas.  He's a really solid student and very conscientious.  When I say he's a Notre Dame kid, I mean he gets along with everyone and he's well-rounded."

And what about Brockington's skills on the field?

"Joe's been a two-way starter since he was a sophomore," Buehler said.   "On offense he plays tailback and gets 25 to 30 carries a game, he's the leading rusher in our county and that includes Jarrin Hayes, a Michigan State recruit.   As good a tailback as he is, you know what?  He's an even better linebacker and he does it after taking the bruising of running the ball on offense. But when I asked him which he wanted to play in college, he said he wanted to be the one delivering the hits."

While Brockington is a middle linebacker on the high school level, Coach Buehler also explained that he will be better-suited as an outside linebacker at Notre Dame.

"We play him at middle linebacker, but that's because if we played him outside, everyone would just run away from him," Buehler said.  "He's being projected as a weakside linebacker at Notre Dame."

Coach Buehler, a longtime Irish fan, compared Brockington to another Irish legend.

"He's soft spoken and shy at first," Buehler said.  "He grew up without a father, but he has a great mother.  She's sacrificed everything to make sure he had clothes on his back and food in his mouth.  It's a similar situation to that of Chris Zorich. The closest and most important person in Joe's life is his mother."