Joey Johnston

Ask the College Football Expert is here with answers to your questions. Since next season's Heisman Trophy will be handed out and the national champion crowned before you know it, let’s quickly move to the first question and get started.

Q: Is there more to it than simply Charlie Weis when evaluating Notre Dame’s strong incoming class?
— Greg Bremer from Scranton, Pa.
A: Charlie Weis certainly has something to do with it, Greg, but he has plenty to sell also. Notre Dame, maybe the most powerful brand name in all of college football. Tradition. The Golden Dome. The program’s own television network. And, of course, a resurgent program that made a big splash in almost ending USC’s winning streak and landing in the Fiesta Bowl.

Notre Dame remains one of those programs that makes everyone stand at attention.

And a shaky recent past seems eons away. When Tyrone Willingham was fired and the school went on a brief, but unsuccessful, run at Florida-bound Urban Meyer, it seemed to reinforce the perception that it couldn’t get done at Notre Dame, at least not in the manner of previous eras.

The rest of college football had caught up (and lapped) the Fighting Irish, who were seemingly caught in a cycle of not being able to attract enough quality athletes because of academic standards (or other excuses).

Weis, in just a few months, has seemingly debunked those myths. Notre Dame shouldn’t — and won’t — take a back seat.

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Many football players have short-sighted goals when selecting a school. What matters most? Playing time and getting to the next level (Weis can flash his three Super Bowl rings from his days with the New England Patriots). Will I play on television? (Done — the NBC TV contract is a given, and other networks clamor for the other openings in ND’s schedule).

(NBC Sports is a partner in the joint venture that runs NBCSports.com.)

Weis certainly has the kind of personality that will play well in the living rooms of top prospects. Plus, there’s the Notre Dame factor. In many ways, the school and its football program still sells itself. Add in a dynamic head coach, with an excellent debut season, and you’re going to have a strong recruiting class.

Q: What’s up with Miami? I don’t see them up high in anyone’s recruiting rankings.
— Josh from Portland, Me.
A: This is a key offseason for the Miami Hurricanes, Josh, and things have certainly been better in Coral Gables. Not only are the Hurricanes coming off a disappointing (for them) 9-3 season and an unfathomable 40-3 thumping at the hands of LSU in the Peach Bowl, Miami coach Larry Coker fired four assistants after the season.

And one of those assistants, quarterbacks coach Dan Werner, was the key to Miami’s relationship with quarterback Pat Devlin of Exton, Pa. Devlin reneged on his early commitment to Miami and shifted to Penn State.

That’s not the best way to set up a banner signing day.

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That being said, there have been plenty of times when Miami’s signing class was not ranked near the top, but the Hurricanes always managed to do well on the field. This season’s concerns are the loss of Devlin and the apparent lack of attracting prospects from South Florida (defensive back Patrick Robinson of Miami Gulliver Prep chose Florida over Miami, for example).

The Hurricanes do have some interesting prospects, though. Running backs Javarris James (Edgerrin’s cousin) of Immokalee, Fla., and Kylan Robinson of Tampa, Fla., could be keepers. Robinson was a virtual unknown after moving from Alaska, but had a 402-yard rushing game and attracted the notice of Miami, his longtime dream school.

The Hurricanes also are getting a potential impact player in wide receiver Sam Shields of Sarasota, Fla.

As always, the real strength of this signing class will be proven on the field, not on paper. Miami fans are eager for the Hurricanes to return to championship form — they haven’t been quite the same since losing that double-overtime Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State — and Coker will be under the gun until it happens.

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