Two down...nine to go - recruiting in the wake of the coaching search | by Michael

While the Irish look for a new head coach, their recruiting class hangs in limbo.

There were expected to be some losses as a result of Willingham's departure. Sure enough, Lawrence Wilson, an athletic DE who was supposedly the #1 pass-rusher we wanted this year, decided to de-commit from Notre Dame. Depending upon when we hire a coach, we still have a shot at landing Wilson. However, Willingham was a big reason why he chose the Irish.

News even worse in the secondary. Brandon Harrison is a top 10 nationally ranked CB whom we landed over the summer. He said he was going to keep his options open, though he still considered himself an ND verbal. That didn't last too long, however. This past weekend he trekked to Iowa, and he pulled the trigger.

The loss of Harrison is devastating because we need CBs and we don't have too many targets left on the board. He could have potentially started next year as a freshman.

And so there are nine recruits left...Evan Sharpley, Asaph Schwapp, David Nelson (whom Urban Meyer has already contacted about checking out Florida), David Grimes, Martin Frierson, Joey Hiben, Scott Smith, Kevin Washington and David Bruton.

Of those, from what I've read I simply can't imagine Grimes, Hiben, Smith or Bruton will go anywhere but Notre Dame. We'll see where the rest end up...