Alex Anzalone Recommits to Notre Dame
Notre Dame has been racking up wins on the field so far this season, but on Monday the Irish staff picked up one of its biggest victories on the recruiting trail when 4-star, top 50 linebacker Alex Anzalone recommitted to the Irish after opening up his recruiting and seriously considering a switch in his commitment to Florida.
Anzalone was in South Bend visiting for the past two days and upon leaving Notre Dame’s campus and heading home, he announced his intention to stay committed to Notre Dame via Twitter:
First off, I want to thank the coaches who have been supportive of me throughout my recruitment. There have been many highs and lows but when it came down to it I had to find the best fit for me. I have developed close relationships with many GREAT coaches, but at the end of the day I had to chose one school. I have been committed to ND since July. With that, I want to reaffirm my commitment to Notre Dame and shut down my recruitment completely with all other schools. God bless!
Anzalone’s recommitment to Notre Dame is a huge win for the Irish coaching staff that has put together arguably the deepest and most talented linebbacking corps in the country in this year’s recruiting class. Anzalone, a consensus 4-star recruit, joins 5-star super recruit Jaylon Smith along with Doug Randolph, Michael Deebs, and Danny Mattingly although Mattingly has been considering other visits which places his commitment on a little less than firm ground at this point.
Even if Msttingly were to decide to switch his pledge, Anzalone’s presence in this class gives Notre Dame one of the best sets of linebackers in a single class in some time and gives Brian Kelly and staff a head to head victory over Florida on the recruiting trail.
Considering Notre Dame will lose Manti Te’o to graduation and Carlo Calebrese and Dan Fox after next season – assuming both at back for 5th years which is not guaranteed right now – linebacker was a major position of need for the Irish along with corner. Combine Anzalone’s commitment on Monday with the news last week of cornerback Cole Luke committing to Notre Dame and Kelly and staff have been on as much of a roll off the field as they have been on it..
Getting Anzalone back on board was no small feat for the Irish coaching staff, but they worked together in shoring up one of the top rated recruits in this year’s class at a major position of need. Hats of to Kelly, defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, and Anzalone’s primary recruiter Harry Hiestand.
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
Gidday Frank Just a quick question. Now that Irish are in NC it seems “funny” not a single propsect has said anything about their interest in ND becoming MORE pronounced. I would have thought that some of the top kids they are chasing would have made some comment about what their final No. 1 ranking has made to their prospective choice of ND as perhaps at least “narrowing” down their final decision. Instead I am seeing 3-4 top kids still suggesting they will be visiting USC which currently has about 25 kids saying they are going there (despite only having 18 scholarships to offer) and at last count 29 were still mulling over offers to USC that would mean about 40+ kids supposedly signing with a school with 18 rides. Your thoughts Frank???? Cheers Dale
The Irish will be stacked at both the weak side OLB and strong side OLB positions with Anzalone and Jaylon Smith added to the depth chart already including Ishaq, Shembo, and Spond. With Te’o leaving, though, who’s going to replace him at the Mike? Would it be wise to shift Smith over to the more cerebral Mike linebacker position?
How exactly does one “recommit”???
Absolutely. What a load of crap!
Easy to second-guess from the outside, but realize you’re dealing with 16, 17 and 18 year old kids who are making one of the biggest and most difficult decisions of their lives. Give ’em a break.
02/04/2009……
This is the date that Manti Teo committed and changed the landscape of college football. Since this commitment, the ND football program has been steadily improving. If Jaylon Smith and company can continue in the direction that Manti has pointed the program, there are many golden days ahead of us.
GO IRISH>>>>>>GO IRISH>>>>>PAY DIACO>>>>>PAY DIACO
Bob Diaco will become a big name when many teams are searching for a coach this offseason. If Diaco leaves, what will the Irish do to keep many of these defensive recruits on board?
spiceyirish,
If ND can “STILL” be paying off the Charlie Weis fiasco, then they damn well better come up with the money to keep Diaco and the other assistants for at least one more year.(Through their contracts)
To be still paying for Weis, and then lose Diaco over money… that would be unforgiveable in my book!
It will not be about money but rather the chance to run your own program.
Got news for you. It’s always about the money!
Ron, No Sh!t Sherlock. Everybody is saying we need to pay him so he won’t leave. News flash, if he gets a head coaching job it will pay more than being an assistant.