We haven't been keeping up with recruiting as much as we'd like, especially with school going on and the fact that Charlie and his crew have been getting commitments left and right.  The 12 commits we've secured by May is by far the most in Charlie's time at Notre Dame and definitely the most under any other coach as well.  The good news is that with the slower months in the summer and the fact that there won't be so many players deciding on schools, we should be able to keep up with the action.  But for now, here's the latest six verbals ND has received since our last update.

Anthony McDonald - Anthony McDonald, a 6-4 220 lbs. linebacker from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, became the seventh commitment for Charlie Weis' staff and the second linebacker to commit, joining David Posluzny.  McDonald has been a Notre Dame lean for a few months now and capped it off by committing in South Bend during his trip in early April.  McDonald's father is a former USC legend, but it is being reported that USC did not offer.  Other known offers include Boston College, Ole Miss, and Oregon, among others.  It is believed that McDonald has the size and speed to play one of the inside linebacker positions in Corwin Brown's new 3-4 defense.  Anthony figures to be a 4-star player on most boards.

While Anthony's commitment was no surprise to those following recruiting, he fits a big need for the Irish in their 2008 recruiting class.  Anthony McDonald is the protypical inside linebacker that Notre Dame has been missing for the past few seasons and will have the opportunity to anchor the linebacking corps for a long time.  He's got the traditional size for a middle linebacker in the 34 defense and if you watch his tape, he's so natural at the position.  He's got the instincts needed to play the game and he has the defensive mentality Notre Dame has so sorely needed.  Part of the problem on defense over the past few seasons has been moving people from different positions on offense to defense.  That's never a good sign.  The Travis Thomas experiment was a disaster at linebacker.  Now we're forced to move John Ryan from defensive end to linebacker.  With McDonald's verbal, along with the other linebacker targets we have, Notre Dame will finally be able to field a defense that was recruited to play defense.  Except if Chris Stewart actually plays.  Then that'll be another story all together.

Dayne Crist - Joining Anthony McDonald from Notre Dame HS is quarterback Dayne Crist.  Crist is a big, pro-style quarterback with terrific size (6-5, 220 lbs).  He becomes the 4th QB recruit in 3 years for Charlie Weis and figures to be a high 4-star recruit or possible 5-star and is a sure fire bet to be an Elite 11 QB later this summer.  Crist verballed shortly after McDonald and chose Notre Dame over offers from most of the top programs in the country including USC, LSU, Michigan, Stanford and Florida State.  Crist threw for over 1,200 yards and 17 TD's last season despite sitting out for a handful of games in the middle of the season due to a back injury.  He later came back to lead Notre Dame to the playoffs.

Most people felt that the Jimmy Clausen commitment last year would make Charlie Weis pass on a quarterback this year.  But Weis is selfish with his QB's and when he targeted a 2008 quarterback, he set his sights on the very best in the nation - Dayne Crist.  It was a shock that Crist committed so early, despite all the competition and fanfare around the current QB's.  But Crist is a competitor and realizes that no matter what program he goes to, he'll have to fight to earn a starting position.  Crist is a fantastic prospect, someone that possesses all the physical tools and leadership qualities that the top QB's have.  He's got the size and strength of a guy like Tom Brady, but he moves well in the pocket and is very accurate for his young age.  From the sounds of it, he's got a great head on his shoulders and is an unbelievable addition to this class, considering most people felt Weis wouldn't target a quarterback.  But in the end, Weis got one of the best in the country.

Darius Fleming - Darius Fleming become the first of two Blue and Gold game commits when he verballed to Charlie Weis and his staff on April 21st.  Fleming, out of Chicago (St. Rita High School) is a top linebacker prospect in the class of 2008 and figures to be a outside linebacker at Notre Dame.  Darius has terrific size at 6-3, 220 lbs and has great speed, clocking in at 4.57 in the 40-yard dash.  At St. Rita High School, Darius played defensive end and registered 105 tackles to go along with 9 sacks and 15 tackles for losses.  Darius is considered to be the top prospect in Illinois and received offers from USC, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan.  He is now the third linebacker to commit to the Irish this recruiting season behind Anthony McDonald and David Posluszny.  

It's no secret that Darius Fleming could be Notre Dame's difference maker so far in this class.  While it's true that he's played defensive end for most of his career and will probably need to take time to adjust to the new position, as far as talent and athleticism go, Darius is one of the best in the country.  It's been awhile since Notre Dame has had a dynamic pass rusher, especially at outside linebacker.  You'd have to go back to Justin Tuck (a DE), Rocky Boiman, and Kory Minor to have someone that matched Darius' credentials.  While Morrice Richardson and Kerry Neal could fit that bill, neither were as highly recruited as Darius.  It's also great to see Corwin Brown and Notre Dame get back into Chicago recruiting.  While Notre Dame has had more recent success in Chicago under Weis, guys like Darius Fleming and Martez Wilson, who committed to Illinois last year, should always go to Notre Dame.  Hopefully the trend changes and a guy like Steven Filer, another linebacker from Chicago follows Fleming's footsteps.

Joseph Fauria - If the name sounds familiar, you're not crazy.  Joseph Fauria, a tight end out of Crespi Carmelite HS in Encino, California, is the nephew of NFL tight end and former Charlie Weis player Christian Fauria.  Fauria, along with Darius Fleming, were the two Blue and Gold commits for Charlie Weis and his staff.  Fauria is a huge (both literally and figuratively) tight end at 6-7, 250 lbs. and he says he is still growing.  Joseph is familiar with fellow SoCal/Irish recruits Dayne Crist and Anthony McDonald and is from the same middle school as current Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen.  Fauria is the second tight end verbal this year, as Kyle Rudolph committed to Notre Dame in late March.  Among the schools that extended offers to Fauria were Arizona State, LSU, UCLA, and Oregon.

There's no question that Charlie Weis likes his tight ends.  With John Carlson gone next year, there is a need for someone to step up and earn the starting role in 2008.  As for now, that will be a heated battle between 2006 recruits Konrad Reuland and Will Yeatman, 2007 recruit Mike Ragone, and 2008 recruits Kyle Rudolph and Joseph Fauria.  The great thing about the group is that they're all different types of tight ends and have different skill sets.  But one thing they do have is common is that they were all terrific prospects coming out of high school.  Reuland, Ragone, and Rudolph (the three R's) have all been pegged at the best at their position in their respective classes, while Yeatman and Fauria are top 10 TE's.  There is a ton of talent there.  Fauria brings a big body to the mix and NFL bloodlines.  He'll probably need some time to adjust to the speed and strength of the college game, but he was an early target for a man that knows his tight ends and comes from a great football area in Southern California.  Notre Dame should be set at tight end for the next 5 years.

Hafis Williams - Hailing from Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey (outside of Newark), Hafis (Ha-feece) Williams became the 11th commitment and the second defensive lineman to pledge for the Irish in 2007.  Hafis is a big-time defensive lineman and at 6-4, 265, Hafis brings the size and versatility to play both nose tackle and defensive end in the 3-4 system, although he will probably start out at defensive end.  Williams had received offers from Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State and was drawing interest from a number of other schools.  Williams should be a 3-star to 4-star recruit.

While Hafis might not have garnered as much attention from the top programs as other players, Notre Dame was one of the first to offer him a scholarship and they were at the top of their target list.  The first thing that jumps out to us is that Hafis is a very versatile athlete and that is what this defense needs.  He might be too undersized for some defenses, but in the 34 defense, he can play defensive end with his size and frame.  Make no mistake about it, Hafis was a huge pick-up.  Anytime you can get a player of his skill set and at a position of need (which defensive line definitely is), you've got yourself a great addition to any class.  Williams comes from a place Charlie Weis is connected to and his story is great - he lives only with his grandmother.  These are the types of kids you root for and Hafis, along with his awesome name, is one of those guys.

Lane Clelland - Lane Clelland, Notre Dame's most recent commitment, was a huge catch for Notre Dame.  Clelland is an offensive line prospect from Owings Mills, MD (McDonogh School) and at 6-5, 270 lbs., he can play a number of positions, although Notre Dame likes him at left tackle or right tackle.  Despite having two offensive linemen in the fold, Notre Dame needed to be successful in their remaining prospects as a number of their early targets went to different schools.  Clelland's commitment was a surprising one and allows Notre Dame to be picky in their last spot for an offensive lineman.  Clelland had offers from a number of big schools, including Michigan, Florida, Florida State, and Maryland.  He figures to be a 4-star recruit when it is all said and done.

Most Irish fans believe that we're set at offensive linemen, just because of that great offensive line haul 2 years ago.  But in reality, if you put the last 4 classes together (counting this year), we are only averaging about 3 linemen per class and that obviously needs to increase.  Through shifting Chris Stewart over to the defensive side of the ball, along with losing out on a few players in this class and in last year's class, offensive line was a priority.  Landing Clelland was huge for those reasons.  Notre Dame can now sit comfortably and land only one more offensive line recruit and they can afford to be picky.  Lane is a huge talent and can play a number of positions along the line.  Notre Dame is lucky to have him so early on in the recruiting season.

As we said, we should have the chance to be a little more recent along the recruiting trail now that school has settled down and the summer is upon us.  Stay tuned!