SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Apparently, Zeke Motta has been paying attention.

The Vero Beach (Fla.) High School safety, who projects as a college linebacker, didn't have to have it pounded into his head that Notre Dame, under first-year assistant and known blitz-lover Jon Tenuta, has been applying more pressure to quarterbacks.

"I really like how coach Tenuta brings a lot of blitzes and stuff," Motta said.

Enough so that Motta decided to join the mix. Motta late last week became the 16th high school player to verbally to commit to Notre Dame's recruiting class of 2009.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Motta became the third linebacker to commit to the class, joining Cleveland-area product Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese of Verona, N.J. Motta projects as a strong outside (SAM) linebacker in Notre Dame's system.

In Irish-speak, that's the same position currently manned by sophomore Harrison Smith. Smith arrived at Notre Dame as a safety and is even listed at the position in the 2008 media guide. But his versatility in coverage and pass-rushing allowed for the move to outside linebacker.

Motta picked ND over Florida, and also considered UCLA, Boston College and Auburn.

Motta visited Notre Dame for the Oct. 4 Stanford game. After a few days of pondering, he announced his choice, citing academics and tradition, two recruiting standbys, as reasons for picking ND. But there was one other thing.

"Probably the vibe that I got when I was there," Motta said. "It felt like destiny, I guess."

While the Irish already have three linebackers committed, the coaches continue to pursue two of the nation's elite — Manti Te'o of Honolulu and Jelani Jenkins of the Washington area.

Motta plans to enroll at Notre Dame for the spring semester, which will allow him to participate in spring football. NCAA recruiting rules prohibit Irish coach Charlie Weis and his assistants from publicly commenting on a recruit until the player has signed a national letter-of-intent.

Chasing Carolinians
Last week’s game at North Carolina carried some added incentive for three members of the Irish who hail from the state.

Two players that Notre Dame recruited out of North Carolina — linebacker Kerry Neal and cornerback Raeshon McNeil — started against the Tar Heels, and a third, freshman corner Robert Blanton, played a significant number of minutes.

“Well, we don't go after every kid in the state. But every year we'll go on to North Carolina and we'll go in after a handful of guys and try and come out of there with a couple,” Weis said. “There's plenty of great football players in the Carolinas, but in North Carolina specifically there's always a handful each year that we'll get involved in and, look it, we know we're not going to win out on all of them but we're just trying to come in and get a little piece of pie.”

A big slice of the North Carolina pie remains in the class Weis is currently assembling. Notre Dame remains involved with offensive tackle Xavier Nixon of Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville.

Notre Dame has received commitments from three offensive linemen — Chris Watt of the Chicago area, Alex Bullard of Brentwood, Tenn., and Zach Martin of Indianapolis.

But in a what is considered a weak year nationally for offensive linemen, adding the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Nixon would arguably give Notre Dame one of the best offensive line hauls in the nation.

The Irish are also reportedly involved with Chapel Hill offensive lineman Robert Crisp, currently a junior and a player who many expect to be one of the top players in the recruiting class of 2010.

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