Fighting Irish Already Gearing Up for 2010

The 2009 season hasn't even started for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but already they have five commitments for the 2010 campaign.

One of these commitments is a 6'5 225 lbs TE from Cincinnati named Alex Welsh. Welsh is considered to be one of the top Tight Ends in the 2010 recruiting class. He reminds some Irish fans of former TE Anthony Fasano, now in the NFL. Welsh was recruited from just about every school in the country.

A local kid was landed by the Irish, WR Daniel Smith. Listed at 6'4 205 lbs, he has the size to make an impact at the Div. l level, but needs to get a tad faster. His time in the 40 was 4.6 seconds. Christian Lombard, out of Paletine, IL,is a 6'5, 290 lb Offensive Lineman who committed to the Irish back in January. Lombard was recruited by Michigan, Purdue and Stanford as well as other big-time schools. Lombard committed to Notre Dame while at the Army All-American Game, a game he will participate in next year.

Another Wide Receiver the Irish were able to land was Bennett Jackson from Hazlet His School in Raritan, NJ. At 6'1, 165 lbs, Jackson needs to get bigger, but caught and ran the football much of the time for Hazlet. Some see him a lot like former Irish WR George West.

Finally, the Irish landed 6'4, 240 lb DE Chris Martin from Princeton, NJ. Some feel that this young man would be Charlie Weis's second major defensive recruit behind Manti T'eo. While at a Nike Summer camp at Stanford University, one scout noted that Martin was the "most physically impressive defensive player." Some think that Martin has the potential to be a lot like former Irish standout and current NFL DE Justin Tuck.

If these and the rest of the recruiting class of 2010 fulfill their potential, the Irish should be well on their way back to national prominence. Information in this article was obtained from fellow blogger Nick Shepkowski at domersportsreport.blogspot.com.