ND-USC Has High Recruiting Stakes

You bet Notre Dame and USC recruit many of the same players. Why wouldn’t they? Both are gunning for national championships and you don’t win them with stiffs.

So as you watch Saturday’s showdown, consider the recruiting implications. You know Charlie Weis is.

“We go after a lot of the same guys, and he (USC coach Pete Carroll) wins some and we win some,” Weis said. “The only way you’re every going to get any good recruiting is if you’re willing to go against the best. Whether or not you get them, you have to be willing to go against the best.”

Weis, in case you’ve forgotten, is very willing.

“It’s important not to be afraid to lose in recruiting. You don’t concede a guy to an opponent. It’s important to go after the best guys, the high-character guys, the guys who can read and write and play.

“Everybody wants those guys.”

Not everybody gets them. But as last year’s recruiting class shows, under Weis, Notre Dame is getting more of them.