Notre Dame recruiting: Alex Anzalone, 4-star LB, will stay with Irish

Four-star linebacker recruit Alex Anzalone will stay with the Fighting Irish after re-considering his commitment to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Recruiting 2013: 3-Star LB Michael Deeb Gives Verbal Commitment To Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have added yet another prospect to their growing class of 2013 commitments. According to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, three-star linebacker prospect, Michael Deeb, has given a verbal commitment to Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish now has commitments from OLB Jaylon Smith (5-star), DE Isaac Rochell (ranked 61st in the nation) and CB Devin Butler (3-star) among over 10 other Notre Dame recruits.

Notre Dame finished the 2011 NCAA football season with an underwhelming 8-5 record for the second season in a row, and they went on to lose the Champ Sports Bowl. Though the team has improved under head coach Brian Kelly, the recent, strong draft classes for Notre Dame promise the team could be on the brink of an impressive turnaround.

For more on Notre Dame, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For additional information the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame Recruiting: DE Isaac Rochell Commits To Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2013 recruiting class just got a little bit stronger on Thursday, as defensive end Isaac Rochell committed to Notre Dame. The 61st-ranked prospect in the nation chose the Irish over the Florida State, citing a perfect combination of football and academics in his decision.

Rochell joins five-star OLB Jaylon Smith as another recent commit in the top-100, so the Irish defense could be a real force in the coming years. Here is a short primer on Rochell from SB Nation's Bud Elliott:

Rochell stands 6'5" and weighs in at 260 pounds. He is a perfect fit for the five-technique end position in Notre Dame's 3-4 defense. Rochell displays good agility and athleticism for his size, and already overpowers blockers at the high school level. He has the frame to add significant size to his frame to control the run game, and should be able to contribute some pass rush as well.

New #NotreDame commit DE Isaac Rochell. RT @bigisaac78: Glad to be Irish #irishmob13 #ndnation

— Brian Hamilton (@ChiTribHamilton) June 7, 2012

For more on Notre Dame, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For additional information the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame Recruiting 2013: 5-Star OLB Jaylon Smith Commits To Irish

Brian Kelly is known for his offensive acumen, but even he likely ascribes to the old maxim that defense wins championships. Kelly has loaded up on top-flight defensive recruits in the last few years, and the streak continued over the weekend when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish received a verbal commitment from high school senior OLB Jaylon Smith.

Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees Arrested And Jailed After Fleeing Police

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Tommy Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese were both arrested on Thursday morning by St. Joseph County Police after fleeing officers dispatched to a rowdy house party in South Bend. As reported by Will Lee of the Chicago Tribune, both players attended a party that officers referred to as a "madhouse of people," and when the police arrived at the house Rees and Calabrese attempted to run away. Officers caught both players, and while Calabrese was booked on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and released after posting $150 bond, Rees caused quite a bit more trouble.

According to Sgt. Bill Redman of the St. Joseph County Police, Rees confronted police and had to be pepper-spayed prior to being taken into custody because he actively resisted arrest. As noted WSBT-TV, Rees was arrested for public intoxication, resisting law enforcement, minor consumption and battery to law enforcement-- a felony charge.

Notre Dame released the following statement regarding the arrests:

"The university is aware of this incident and is confident that it will be handled in a prompt and professional manner through the criminal justice system," Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown said in a statement. "Internal discipline is handled privately, in accord with our own policies and federal law."

For more on Notre Dame, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For additional information the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame Football Recruiting 2012: Irish Get Verbal Commitment From TE Mike Heuerman

According to Jim Miesle of the Notre Dame blog One Foot Down, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have secured yet another top prospect for their already impressive 2012 recruiting class:

Tight End Mike Heuerman Verbally Commits to Notre Dame! The Irish add a big TE #NDFB #Irish @SBNRecruiting sbn.to/IeKsme

— Jim Miesle (@jemiesle) April 26, 2012

Mike Heuerman, rated as a four star prospect by every major ranking system, could develop into a solid, all-around tight end for the Irish, and -- according to Miesle -- could contribute immediately:

The Irish have a recent history of freshman tight ends seeing game action early and often (Ben Koyack and Kyle Rudolph come to mind), but those were mainly due to injury or depth issues ahead of them. At 6'4", I would expect his college playing weight to be somewhere north of 240 lbs. If he shows up on campus near that mark, it's possible he sees early action.

The Fighting Irish start the 2012 season September 1 in Dublin, Ireland, as they square off against the Navy Midshipmen.

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Aaron Lynch Transfer: DE Officially Transfers To USF

According to Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated, the departure of former Notre Dame Fighting Irish recruit DE Aaran Lynch has become final. The

DE Aaron Lynch has signed scholarship paperwork at USF. Will enroll in summer B session that starts June 25.

— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) April 23, 2012

The 19-year-old defensive lineman is reportedly transferring back to his home state of Florida in order to be closer to his girlfriend. Lynch was a highly-rated defensive end coming out of Cape Coral's Island Coast High School. The 6'6" end joined the Irish 2011 after initially committing with Notre Dame, switching his commitment to the Florida State Seminoles and then re-committing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame Football Recruiting: OT John Montelus Commits To Irish

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may be playing their annual spring game today, but the program was also busy with recruiting. According to reports, the Irish got a commitment from John Montelus, an offensive tackle out of Everett, Massachusetts.

John Montelus to Notre Dame. He's a better prospect than Steven Elmer who they already have committed.

— JC Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) April 21, 2012

Montelus had offers from a host of schools, including Boston College, North Carolina, Michigan Penn State, and Florida. It's surely a big coup for the Irish.

Related: Notre Dame Football 2012: Quarterbacks In Spotlight During Blue-Gold Spring Game On Saturday

Montelus is a four-star prospect (on a five-star scale) and the 26th best offensive tackle in the country according to Rivals.com.

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Aaron Lynch Transfer: Notre Dame DE Requests To Be Released To South Florida, According To Report

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have already suffered through the initial wave of transfer-related drama with defensive end Aaron Lynch, but on Friday he requested to be released for transfer to the University of South Florida, according to a report from Mark Schlabach of ESPN Chicago. Lynch is originally from Fort Meyers, Florida, and Schlabach also noted that he is reportedly transferring to be closer to his girlfriend, who attends school in Tampa.

The move is not official at this point, but former Director of College Scouting for the Chicago Bears and current National Football Post columnist Greg Gabriel has some interesting thoughts on Lynch's pending decision to leave Notre Dame:

Many NFL prospects often are under the assumption that scouts are usually just looking at how they play their last year in college. That can't be further from the truth. Good scouts who know their "area" are up to date on everything that happens to a prospect while he is in college and sometimes even in high school. If there are character concerns they really dig deep into the prospect's past because they have to know the answers as to "why." If Lynch does indeed transfer, when he goes through the interview process scouts will ask him about his high school recruitment decisions and his decision to transfer from Notre Dame. The question they will ask themselves is whether or not Lynch is flaky. Can he be depended on? Is he a quitter? Can he handle situations that are tough?

Gabriel worked in the NFL for 29 years as a scout or in a scouting department, so the entire piece is definitely worth a read.

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame TE Mike Ragone To Transfer To Kansas

Though Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans may not have the most fond memories of ex-head coach Charlie Weis, the same apparently can't be said for his ex-players. Weis, now the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, has received his third Notre Dame transfer since joining Kansas, with tight end Mike Ragone joining quarterback Charlie Weis and linebacker Anthony McDonald.

Ragone, who is eligible to play in 2012 because he completed his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame, played in 37 games in his Irish career, catching 11 balls for 109 yards over that time. Along with Weis and McDonald, Ragone will join ex-Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Justin McCay and ex-BYU Cougars quarterback Jake Heaps as they look to reenergize the Jayhawks football program.

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Aaron Lynch Transfer: Notre Dame DE Leaving School And Could Be Headed To South Florida, According To Reports

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are about to take a big hit, as starting defensive end Aaron Lynch has left the team and will transfer to a school in his home state of Florida after the spring semester, according to Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports. Lynch's recruitment back in 2011 was tense, as the DE prospect first committed to Notre Dame, de-committed and committed to Florida State and then de-committed to FSU and signed on with ND football. Here's what Feldman initially reported, via Twitter:

Huge news RT@NDHardin #NotreDame DE Aaron Lynch has left the team & will transfer to another school following the spring semester

— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) April 13, 2012

Lynch missed practice Wednesday and was excused for personal reasons, which coach Brian Kelly initially downplayed, but Kelly didn't exactly take to recent news that Lynch plans to transfer quite as well, according to Feldman:

Brian Kelly on Aaron Lynch: "You can’t make it at NotreDame if your head & heart are not here."..Not sure you can make it anywhere that way.

— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) April 13, 2012

As for where Lynch could be headed, Josh Newberg of 247sports.com thinks he will be headed to the University of South Florida this summer and Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports is reporting that Lynch said "I want to go back home to Florida."

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame Recruiting 2013: CB Devin Butler Commits To Irish

At the rate Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly is picking up commitments for his 2013 class, he may be able to move onto the 2014 class come the summer. Kelly and the Irish picked up commitment No. 10 on Wednesday morning when they received a verbal pledge from Washington D.C. cornerback Devin Butler.

Notre Dame Football Recruiting 2013: Despite Strong Recruiting Class, Notre Dame Still Needs More

Jim Miesle of Notre Dame Fighting Irish blog One Foot Down recently broke down the latest recruiting news out of South Bend. The football recruiting expert identified the team's needs and which players will fill those needs. Most notably, the team appears to have a commitment from a particularly special quarterback:

QB - 1

Commit: Malik Zaire

The staff is done here after landing a (somewhat surprising) verbal from one of the top QBs on their board. Irish fans should be pretty pumped up about Zaire-he is a special talent.

In Miesle's final report, he notes the team has already acquired the necessary quarterback and four linemen for the coming season, but still needs players at all three skills positions (RB, WR and TE) as well as across the board on defense (DL, LB, CB, S and a punter)

For more on Notre Dame's recruiting, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on the Irish, head over to One Foot Down. For recruiting news and analysis around the country, check out SB Nation's college football recruiting news hub.

Notre Dame Recruiting 2013: Corey Robinson Becomes Sixth Irish Commitment

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly continued to make waves across the recruiting landscape on Tuesday, reeling in his sixth commitment for the 2013 class. The pledge came from San Antonio, Texas wide receiver Corey Robinson, who chose the Irish over the Kansas Jayhawks, North Carolina Tar Heels and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Notre Dame Recruiting 2013: Irish Land Four Big Commitments

Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish have already landed one of the most impressive classes of the 2013 recruiting cycle.