Te'o!!!!!!!

Elite 5 star linebacker Manti Te'o (pictured) shocked much of the recruiting world this morning by choosing the Irish over USC and UCLA on national television (I love the USC hat on the table, BTW). His commitment single handedly moved the Irish class up the charts, and more importantly gave the program some recruiting momentum unlike anything since the Jimmy Clausen commitment a few years back. Rated as ESPN's top overall defensive prospect - at any position - in the country, Manti's commitment is al over the internet and even on the front page of ESPN. Check it out on the front page, and also a background piece on Te'o here. Interesting read - he says he wants to be a trail blazer, and I'd say a Mormon Hawaiian linebacker coming to ND over USC is certainly blazing a trail of his own.

The program signed a total of 17 players today, a few people smaller than we would have liked, but very high on quality. The last will be ranked in the upper teens my most services, likely the highest in the ESPN rankings. Numerous prospects from the west coast, most of which were offered by USC - always a good thing to beat them on the recruiting trail some, since the field hasn't been a good place to compete against them lately. USC won their fair share today though, as the two safeties I mentioned in yesterday's post (Jawanza Starling and Byron Moore) both chose the Trojans over the Irish.

Tons of great video and information at UND.com, including a Charlie Weis press conference where he talks about each player. You could visibly tell that Charlie Weis was very excited about this class, particularly about Manti Te'o. Weis kept trying to explain that he was excited about the entire class, not trying to emphasize Te'o over the others. But he kept failing, continually bringing the discussion back to Te'o. Weis made it clear that Te'o was a huge defensive sign - but also that he was a huge advertisement for the program, even more important than Jimmy Clausen's in some ways. Te'o's decision airing live on national TV on signing day gave the program some good pub and street cred. Also, Te'o gives ND credibility on the defensive side of the ball, where Charlie has not been as successful in recruiting.

Without a doubt, this is the best defensive recruit inked in the last decade of Notre Dame football. Will he be as good as the hype? Who knows. I can tell you that based on the countless stories and interviews I have read dealing with Te'o, that this kid is a good, honest, heady kid that puts faith, family, and hard work first. Even though he is Mormon, he has Notre Dame written all over him. He reminds me of a former Irish defensive great, who impacted the program in the best possible way back in the late 80s - Chris Zorich. They play different positions, and come from different parts of the country - but these guys play with an earnestness and faith that screams Notre Dame. Te'o talks of doing just what Zorich did - coming to Notre Dame, blazing a trail, and working as hard as humanely possible to make the program the best it can be. Whether Te'o's results will mirror Zorich's, no one knows. But I feel good about this kid raising the level of intensity and passion on the defensive side of the ball to near Zorich-levels.

I hate to say it, but this morning, I felt that Te'o's decision would determine whether Charlie Weis ho-hums along at 7 to 9 wins a year, or if the program really starts doing damage. Losing Te'o would have been very very tough. Landing Te'o brings not only a great linebacker that can quarterback the defense, but some great momentum and hope for the Irish program - a program that has been short on both recently. The Te'o commitment and the Hawaii bowl performance were comparable in importance, which says a lot. Today, I feel like it's Christmas Eve all over again. Hope is alive for the Charlie Weis era of Notre Dame football.