Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has made no secret his desire to reconnect with
the Catholic schools, particularly on the West Coast. When he got a
commitment from Anthony McDonald, the middle linebacker from Notre Dame HS in
Sherman Oaks, it triggered a run in which the Irish picked up three verbals from
the Golden State in a 10-day span.McDonald's commitment was followed by the
announcement from Dayne Crist on the FSN High School Spotlight that he would be
joining his teammate in South Bend to play his college football.
“I knew when I was up there it was the right fit and
the place for me,” said Crist. “It just had a completely different feel from all
the different schools. I can’t really pinpoint what it was. It was just a
combination of everything, everything felt right and I had that feeling in my
gut."
Two days after Crist's announcement was made, their Serra League rival,
Joseph Fauria, a tight end from Crespi HS in Encino committed to the Irish while
taking an unofficial trip for Notre Dame's Spring Game.
“I came out here for the spring game, and it just
felt right,” said Fauria. “It felt like the place I want to be. It was my first
time ever being there and in one word, I’d say it was beautiful. That’s what it
was.”
In Week Ten of the prep season, the future teammates
will meet in the Serra League finale. But the three are already becoming a
tight group.
“I actually spoke with Anthony and we talked about
building a relationship before we go to South Bend. And Dayne. our friendship is
getting better and better every week. It would be good to catch some passes from
him in college,” said Fauria. “We’re bringing the west ballers out to Notre
Dame.”
Also in South Bend was Warren Reuland, the 6-5, receiver from Mission
Viejo, Calif., who's older brother Konrad is a sophomore tight end for the Irish.
While Reuland visited Notre Dame with his family, his heart was back home in
California. On Wednesday, Reuland committed to play in-state at Stanford.
"I wanted to make [the decision] before the end of
the summer, but after seeing the Stanford campus and everything, I just knew
that was the place for me," Reuland told The Bootleg. "I didn't want to wait
any longer because I knew I'd want to go there. I didn't want to let that
opportunity of the scholarship they offered me pass me by."
Reuland is the second commitment for the Cardinal,
following the verbal of Steven Christian, a cornerback/receiver from Kennedy HS
in Sacramento, who committed to Jim Harbaugh on April 15.
Surprisingly, USC didn't sign a player from Long Beach Poly in February, a
school they perennially draw a prospect or two from. But that streak is
likely to end at one with Jurrell Casey, the 6-2, 282-pound tackle.
Casey told Scout.com that he's a soft verbal to the Trojans, and has plans to
make it official.
“I have pretty much given USC a soft verbal,” Casey
told Scout.com. “I haven’t made an official commitment yet because me and my
boy, Vaughn Telemaque, want to commit at the same time. We’re planning on doing
it as soon as school is over, in early summer.”
Casey had 104 tackles, 10 sacks, six fumble recoveries
and two blocked punts en route to First Team All-State underclass honors in 2006
Just a day after receiving a "dream offer" from the home-state Washington
Huskies, Justin Glenn, a 5-11, 185-pound athlete from Kamiak HS in Mukilteo gave
the Huskies a commitment."I talked with my parents
about it for a while last night, and I'm ready to make it a full commitment. I'm
not going to the Oregon Spring Game (this weekend)," Glenn told Scout.com's
Chris Fetters. "I'm just going to the Washington Spring Game."
Glenn was a second-team all-WesCo South pick on defense,
where he had five interceptions and led the Knights in tackles. On offense,
Glenn racked up 1268 all-purpose yards, including 11 touchdowns.
Jamaar Jarrett, who first caught our attention last spring at the Los Angeles
Scout Combine when he was a sophomore, is fast becoming a hot commodity out
West.The 6-5, 240-pound defensive end from Mission Hills HS in San Marcos,
Calif., added an offer from Arizona State, to go with offers from Oregon,
Colorado, San Diego State, Ole Miss and Arizona. And several additional
Pac-10 schools have been showing interest in him.
“Washington, Washington State, USC, Cal and UCLA are
some of the schools I’ve been talking with,” said Jarrett. “USC said I need to
go to their lineman camp and they’ll evaluate me more. The rest all said they’re
evaluating me, too.”
Jarrett will return to the Scout.com Combine this
weekend in Los Angeles.