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<img src="http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/images/helmets/nd.gif" align="left" hspace="5">SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Three students who played high school football last fall started classes at Notre Dame on Tuesday, marking a change in the school's longtime policy against mid-year admissions.
Running back James Aldridge of Merrillville (Ind.) High School, offensive lineman Chris Stewart of Klein High School in Texas, and George West, a defensive back and wide receiver from Northeast Academy in Oklahoma City, became the first recruits in years to enroll at Notre Dame for the spring semester.
Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said Notre Dame may have been the last school to make the change. He said the policy had hurt the Irish because some recruits had not considered Notre Dame because of its policy that prevented them from enrolling early and having a better job of competing for playing time.
"It's something that had to be done in order to compete with other schools," Lemming said. "For a number of top stars they were out of the recruiting race until the beginning -- I would say at least 10 percent of the top 100 players."
Players want to enroll early so they can take part in spring practices.
"It gives them a major advantage over the other incoming freshmen," Lemming said.
Dan Saracino, the university's assistant provost for enrollment, said Notre Dame had opposed allowing incoming students to enroll in January because of its program that helps students make the transition from high school to college.
"Because of this, 98 percent of our new students return for their sophomore years -- one of the highest retention rates in the country," he said.
Saracino said the school reviewed the policy the past two years and decided to allow a limited number of students to enroll in January.
The move also allows Notre Dame to recruit more high school football players. The early enrollees can be counted against either this year's recruiting class or last year's. John Heisler, senior associate athletic director, said the three would count against last year's total, when the Irish signed 15 players.
Notre Dame already has verbal commitments from 23 other high school seniors.
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was on the road recruiting Tuesday and unavailable for comment, Heisler said.
Lemming said Notre Dame likely will have one of the nation's top three recruiting classes. He now has Florida ranked No. 1, Notre Dame second and Texas third, but that could change before the Feb. 1 signing date.
"This class will be fantastic," he said. "They're starting to get the athletes they sorely needed."
Source: Chicago Tribune
Running back James Aldridge of Merrillville (Ind.) High School, offensive lineman Chris Stewart of Klein High School in Texas, and George West, a defensive back and wide receiver from Northeast Academy in Oklahoma City, became the first recruits in years to enroll at Notre Dame for the spring semester.
Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said Notre Dame may have been the last school to make the change. He said the policy had hurt the Irish because some recruits had not considered Notre Dame because of its policy that prevented them from enrolling early and having a better job of competing for playing time.
"It's something that had to be done in order to compete with other schools," Lemming said. "For a number of top stars they were out of the recruiting race until the beginning -- I would say at least 10 percent of the top 100 players."
Players want to enroll early so they can take part in spring practices.
"It gives them a major advantage over the other incoming freshmen," Lemming said.
Dan Saracino, the university's assistant provost for enrollment, said Notre Dame had opposed allowing incoming students to enroll in January because of its program that helps students make the transition from high school to college.
"Because of this, 98 percent of our new students return for their sophomore years -- one of the highest retention rates in the country," he said.
Saracino said the school reviewed the policy the past two years and decided to allow a limited number of students to enroll in January.
The move also allows Notre Dame to recruit more high school football players. The early enrollees can be counted against either this year's recruiting class or last year's. John Heisler, senior associate athletic director, said the three would count against last year's total, when the Irish signed 15 players.
Notre Dame already has verbal commitments from 23 other high school seniors.
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was on the road recruiting Tuesday and unavailable for comment, Heisler said.
Lemming said Notre Dame likely will have one of the nation's top three recruiting classes. He now has Florida ranked No. 1, Notre Dame second and Texas third, but that could change before the Feb. 1 signing date.
"This class will be fantastic," he said. "They're starting to get the athletes they sorely needed."
Source: Chicago Tribune
