Anzalone confirms commitment as recruiting heats up

Notre Dame’s recruiting class is nearly full at 22 members. And thanks to a weekend visit to South Bend by linebacker Alex Anzalone, it’ll stay that way.

The Wyomissing, Pennsylvania linebacker won his section championship on Saturday afternoon then took a drive to South Bend, spending Sunday and Monday with the Notre Dame coaches and support staff. After looking seriously at changing his commitment to Florida, a school and area where he has several family ties, Anzalone came back to Notre Dame for one final visit before deciding where he’ll enroll early this January.

With Anzalone, Notre Dame has one of the deepest recruiting classes in the country at linebacker, headlined by Jaylon Smith on the edge, with Michael Deeb joining Anzalone in the inside. Doug Randolph and Danny Mattingly wrap up the outside linebacker spots, replenishing a position group that’ll be losing some key contributors the next two seasons. But Anzalone was a lynchpin in the class, and a top 50 player in the country to boot, who planned on donning Manti Te’o's No. 5 next season, no small honor.

After leaving South Bend today, Anzalone took to Twitter to announce his intentions.

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!

The Irish holding onto Anzalone was hardly the only good news of the weekend. In addition to locking down cornerback Cole Luke in the past week, blue-chip safety Max Redfield, who visited the Irish for the Stanford game even though he was committed to Southern Cal, officially decommitted from the Trojans, naming Notre Dame his new leader. Rivals ranks Redfield as the No. 31 player in the country, the second best player in California, and he’s another great option for the Irish in a secondary that’s still looking for bodies.

Here’s what Redfield released on his Facebook page, according to the South Bend Tribune’s Tyler James:

“Going back on my word is something I never imagined doing and it hurts me to do it but in the end I feel is necessary to do in order to decide what college I want to go to and in the end what path I want to take in life. For many different reasons I am choosing to decommit from USC and re-open recruiting. I am sorry to the people I might let down or hurt in this decision but it is a decision that is crucial for my future athletically, academically, and spiritually. I will not be accepting calls for interviews, quotes etc.”

How Notre Dame closes its recruiting class is anybody’s guess. In addition to Redfield, Demarcus Robinson, one of the top wideouts on the Irish’s board, was in South Bend this weekend and all reports say he enjoyed his visit. Whether that means he’ll step away from his commitment to Clemson or not is anybody’s guess, but he’s believed to be one of the few players that the Irish would accept a commitment from right now.

How many more commitments the Irish take will be determined by multiple factors. Can Notre Dame win an appeal for a sixth season for Jamoris Slaughter? Is Tate Nichols knee injury severe enough to end his career and put him on a medical hardship, opening up a roster spot? Just who will the Irish staff invite back for a fifth year?

Sitting at 9-0 and with a rock solid recruiting class, these are all champagne problems. But with Anzalone sticking with his decision to come to Notre Dame and other elite players potentially tempted by the lure of the Irish, it’s a nice reminder that winning always restores the luster of the golden dome.