Harrison Smith is Notre Dame’s 16th Commitment for ’07

(UHND.com) – Notre Dame fans were treated to an early Christmas present on Friday when Knoxville Catholic safety Harrison Smith became the 16th commitment in this year’s recruiting class for the Fighting Irish. Smith, who lives in the shadows of the University of Tennessee picked the Irish over the hometown Vols.

Smith (6’2”, 205, 4.45) will come to Notre Dame as a highly ranked safety from both Scout.com and Rivlas.com garnering a four star ranking from both recruiting services.

Some have speculated that Smith could eventually grow into a linebacker prospect, but it looks like he will make his home as a safety for the Irish. He has got a great combination of size and speed for the position and with 43 offensive touchdowns to his name the last two years, he has the ability to make things happen with the ball in his hands.

Getting Smith out of Knoxville is a he coup for Weis and his staff because they had to go head to head with a very powerful local school such as Tennessee. The Vols generally do a very good job at keeping local talent in the state, but Weis and staff were able to win this battle.

The Irish now have two commitments from Tennessee with Smith joining wide receiver/running back prospect Golden Tate. A third Tennessee prospect, linebacker Chris Donald, remains very much on Weis’s radar as well.

Should Weis and the Irish be able to secure a commitment from Donald at the All American Bowl, it would complete a rather impressive trifecta of commitments from the Volunteer State.

Smith is the first safety prospect in this class and second defensive back along with South Carolina cornerback Gary Gray.