Signing Day Drama – Starling Still in Play?
Jawanza Starling, who committed to USC earlier today, is still not showing up on the Official USC website as a signee for their class of 2009. Pete Carroll also did NOT mention Starling at his press conference when he introduced the class – that should be confirmation that USC does not have his letter of intent yet.
Now, that doesn’t mean that Starling won’t be sending in the LOI or that he hasn’t signed it. It just means that USC hasn’t gotten yet. If they had, Starling would be listed on their official list of signees and Carroll would have mentioned him during his press conference.
It certainly would be quite a role reversal for something like this to happen in Notre Dame’s favor wouldn’t it? Let’s not get our hopes up just yet, but at least for now it appears as though there may be a glimmer of hope here. Remember, there were several stories regarding Starlings commitment and even a video showing him put on a USC so if anything, this would still be a long shot.
We’ll post more when information is available.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
To answer my own question, it appears that Starling signed:
Ending a day-long mystery that apparently was much ado about nothing, defensive back Jawanza Starling of Tallahassee, Fla., became the 18th member of USC’s 2009 football recruiting class.
Starling announced his intention to attend USC on Wednesday, but the school didn’t receive his letter of intent until today.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Starling attended Lincoln High, which also produced current USC cornerback T.J. Bryant.
Starling is the fifth defensive back to join the Trojans, although it remains to be seen if any get moved to other positions.
Rivals reports that Starling has in fact signed a LOI with USC. I did a Google search “Jawanza Starling Notre Dame” and clicked on the Rivals site. ND will have to really recruit secondary — esp. CBs — next year!
Any update on Starling’s status?
Weis did mention that there may be one or two players they will still add, but obviously couldn’t mention any names. I just assumed it was some lesser known players, but who knows.
true, but usc has how many players for safety???? i know these recruits (safeties) are easy to change over to another position, but some (hopefully starling) want to be on defense and don’t want to be converted. it would be nice to have him, but i am not losing any sleep either way. nd seems to always have someone excel at the ss and fs positions.
Well, it is a possibility, even if it is a very slight one. It would be HUGE for this class if Starling swung Notre Dame’s way at the very end here.
the problem is by posting this you are clearly trying to get our hopes up.