Tony Rice? Who is he? Tim Brown? He's that old receiver theRaiders cut loose, right?
Ara Parseghian? Isn't he the guy who coached back in the '30s and'40s?
Cheering for ol' Notre Dame isn't quite what it used to be, andnobody understands better than coach Tyrone Willingham, who ischarged with making this generation of high school football playersbelieve that there is still some magic left in the program.
It hasn't been easy. A big part of Willingham's success in sevenyears at Stanford was built by talent he recruited from SouthernCalifornia. But Notre Dame is having trouble drawing area blue-chipplayers, who have realized they can achieve their goals closer tohome, at USC, UCLA or Cal.
This year is the 16th anniversary of Notre Dame's most recentnational title and the 17th anniversary of its last Heisman Trophywinner, Brown. The last time the Fighting Irish enjoyed any type ofsubstantial success on the national level, today's prep stars werebeing pushed around in strollers.
"I still think that tradition is important," said Willingham,whose 6-4 Fighting Irish face undefeated USC on Saturday at theColiseum. "I don't see many people talking about throwing outThanksgiving or Christmas, so I do think tradition is important.
"That's something that people respect and believe in. So we justhave to execute and get back to the top, and add that success as oneof the other fine features of our great university that will attractyoung people."
Willingham talks a good game, but the proof is always in the inkon the letters of intent every February.
In the 2004 recruiting season, three of Notre Dame's 17 recruitscame from Southern California, but only one - linebacker AnthonyVernaglia of Orange Lutheran - was ranked among the top 20 at hisposition by the Internet scouting site Rivals.com. In 2003, NotreDame pulled in one Southern California recruit out of 21 incomingfreshmen.
Notre Dame's 2004 roster features more players from California(12) than any other state, but only seven are from football-richSouthern California, and that number has been dwindling. None of the11 players who have committed to Notre Dame so far this year arefrom California.
"We place a fairly significant emphasis on Southern Californiarecruiting, and the state of California in general, because of thelarge population base," Willingham said. "Many years ago, someonesaid that if you have a collection of a million people in one area,then you will have an Olympic-caliber athlete.
"If that is the case - and California is one of the most-populated states - there will be some very elite athletes to comeout of that population, and you need to get in there and see if youcan get one or two of those elite athletes out."
In a different era, Cary Harris probably would have been a lockto sign with Notre Dame. He's an intelligent young man and one ofthe nation's top prep cornerbacks, and he just happens to play forNotre Dame High in Sherman Oaks. The school band even plays theuniversity's fight song.
But while Harris has Notre Dame listed among his favorites, hehasn't committed. He is also looking strongly at USC and a handfulof other schools. Harris said he has talked to Willingham once andthat a position coach has visited with him, but Harris hasn'tscheduled a trip to South Bend, Ind., just yet.
"(Willingham) is a real straightforward guy," Harris said. "NotreDame is still attractive based on its tradition. I think they aregoing to be a better team again."
The fact that Harris hasn't committed to the Fighting Irish sayssomething to Bobby Burton, a Rivals.com recruiting expert who saysso far this year, Notre Dame hasn't pulled in enough top-levelplayers.
"I know, within five minutes of talking to a player, if he reallywants to go to Notre Dame," Burton said. "It's different from otherschools. Kids who want to go to Notre Dame are very passionate aboutthe school. They don't just say, 'I like the school,' and put it ona list with Florida State."
Every year, it becomes more difficult to find Southern Californiaplayers with that passion. At Stanford, Willingham had solid successin recruiting Southern California. Amon Gordon, Teyo Johnson, MattLeonard and Chris Lewis all came from the area.
In the past, high school players from coast to coast grew updreaming about being a part of the Notre Dame tradition. AlthoughNotre Dame is still considered a top-level program, the aura isfading, and prep stars don't have the same level of affinity for theprogram's tradition.
"There's a defining line somewhere, but I'm sure that Notre Dameresonates less with younger kids, teenagers, than it did when I wasgrowing up," said Pat Haden, a former USC quarterback and currentNotre Dame television commentator for NBC. "I grew up Catholic andwent to a Catholic high school (Bishop Amat) and always wanted toplay for Notre Dame, and I think a lot of kids in that situationfelt the same way.
"Recruits are more sophisticated today. ... In the old days, youhad to go to a big school to get to the NFL. Today, you can go toMarshall or Bowling Green and still be a No. 1 draft pick."
It's not all about football. Notre Dame is a highly rankedacademic institution, which often prevents them from seriouslyrecruiting blue-chip athletes who aren't going to make the grades.
Also, since Notre Dame recruits nationally, it can't be expectedto pull in a huge number of recruits from any one area. But SouthernCalifornia, along with Florida and Texas, annually produces some ofthe best high school talent in the country, and Notre Dame hasn'tbeen able to dominate this area.
Two current USC stars, tailback Reggie Bush and offensive linemanFred Matua, strongly considered signing with Willingham butultimately chose the Trojans. Notre Dame running backs coach BuzzPreston, the school's only coach with any Southern California ties,had a strong influence on Matua because both attended Banning Highin Wilmington. But Matua and Bush, a San Diego native, chose USCbecause they thought they could stay close to home and achieve theirgoals.
The tradition of Notre Dame remains a powerful draw, both playerssaid, but apparently not enough to make them want to end up 2,000miles away from their families.
"Being recruited by Notre Dame was a great experience," Bushsaid. "Their tradition is great, and I really liked coachWillingham. He's really like that; it's not just an act, he's agenuine guy. But, all things considered, it just made more sense forme to come to USC."
Rich Hammond, (818) 713-3611
rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com
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