Recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint. You hear this saying every year and never were it more evident than this year in South Bend. The Irish busted out of the gates by gaining the verbal commitment of California gunslinger Jimmy Clausen. In something scripted totally out of Hollywood, Clausen arrived in Indiana last spring to watch the Notre Dame Spring game and he had an agenda. Clausen took a hummer limo to the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown South Bend and in front of several television cameras announced that he would sign with Notre Dame and he wanted the nations top prospects to join him. Game on!

Signing Day 2007 was 10 months away and Charlie Weis had his cornerstone recruit in the boat so to speak. Clausen’s commitment did open the eyes of blue-chip recruits from coast-to-coast. Along with Clausen, Notre Dame also had verbal commitments from Aaron Nagel, a linebacker from Lemont, Ill. and Kerry Neal, a defensive end from Bunn, N.C. Nagel and Clausen participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and Neal was a defensive standout in the inaugural MSL Sports East Meets West All-American game.

Before the 2006 season started, Notre Dame also landed two of the nation’s most sought after prospects, both from New Jersey. Tight end Mike Ragone out of Camden Catholic in Cherry Hill and wide receiver Duval Kumara from Hoboken High pledged the Fighting Irish.

Expectations on the field and off the field were extremely high at Notre Dame in 2006. The Irish played themselves into a BCS berth but lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame needed to address holes on the defense, especially in the backfield. Were those needs met with this 2007 crop of recruits?

Harrison Smith, a safety from Catholic High in Knoxville, Tenn., impressed in the MSL Sports East Meets West All-American game. Gary Gray out of Columbia, South Carolina was one of the most sought after defensive backs in the country, Ian Williams out of Longwood, Fla., gives Charlie Weis much needed help at defensive tackle position.

Notre Dame did take a significant hit to their recruiting class when Justin Trattou, a defensive end from Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey and Greg Little, a super blue-chip wide receiver from Durham, North Carolina chose to sign with Florida and North Carolina respectively. Both prospects were early commitments to the Irish and both were U.S. Army All-Americans. If Trattou and Little had signed with Notre Dame, Charlie Weis could have had a top five recruiting class.

Impact Player: Jimmy Clausen, QB, Westlake Village, Calif.

Look for Clausen, arguably the No. 1 prospect in the nation, to take over for Brady Quinn as the Notre Dame signal caller in 2007. Clausen, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, from Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village, Calif., has a quick release, a rocket arm and all the tools to play on Sunday.

Sleeper: Brian Smith, LB, Overland Park, Kan.

Linebacker Brian Smith from Overland Park, Kan. is underrated and could be the surprise of this class. Smith, the son of former Notre Dame football player Chris Smith, was originally committed to Iowa but changed his commitment to the Fighting Irish in January. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, from St. Thomas Aquinas is an active, hard-hitting linebacker that plays sideline-to-sideline.

Complete list of signees:
1.    Armando Allen          RB
2.    Jimmy Clausen         QB
3.    Taylor Dever              OL
4.    Gary Gray                   DB
5.    Robert Hughes          RB
6.    Duval Kamara           WR
7.    Aaron Nagel              LB
8.    Kerry Neal                  DL
9.    Andrew Nuss             DL
10.    Emeka Nwankwo   OL
11.    Steve Paskorz         LB
12.    Mike Ragone          TE
13.    Matt Romine            OL
14.    Brian Smith              LB
15.    Harrison Smith       DB
16.    Golden Tate           WR
17.    Brandon Walker    P/K
18.    Ian Williams            DL

MSL Sports is a nationally recognized scouting and recruiting organization serving both universities, athletes and media organizations.  MSL is the only company to provide, through our 13 combines, the Video on Demand technology that allows coaches to view individual combine workouts online.   In addition, MSL is the creators of the East Meets West High School All-American Game football game as well as many other sports media properties.  To learn more or to register for an event, please visit www.mslcombines.com