Eric Hansen

Anthony Barr is the next must-have, newest best thing in college football recruiting.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound running back from Loyola High School in Los Angeles could project as a linebacker or even a defensive end. But the angst about where the son of former Notre Dame standout running back Tony Brooks and the nephew of Irish All-American Reggie Brooks will end up is building so furious and so fast, it’s pushing Notre Dame’s Dec. 24 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matchup with Hawaii into the shadows.

And Barr can’t sign a letter of intent until February of 2010.

“It’s definitely not too early to be working on juniors,” CBS College Sports recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. “In fact, for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis it is of the utmost importance. And Anthony Barr is the kind of guy Notre Dame needs from a talent standpoint and a perception standpoint.”

So engrossed in recruiting is Weis that between now and Notre Dame’s exam schedule (Dec. 15-19), he has sacrificed five of the allotted 15 pre-bowl practices.

"That's surprising, but it's the right move in this situation," Lemming said. "The bowl game is important, but recruiting is more important when the season hasn't gone well. It has more lasting effects.

"Obviously, if they're fighting for a national championship, then they use all 15 (bowl practices). Both things are important to your future, but in Notre Dame's situation this year, it's the smart thing not to sacrifice recruiting."

At the epicenter of this year’s class is California, the state where ND’s highest-rated recruit each of the past two cycles has come from (Dayne Crist in 2008 and Jimmy Clausen in 2007) and where 2010’s may also call home (Barr).

In the current cycle, which ends Feb. 4 on national signing day, three of its biggest stars to date (wide receiver Shaquelle Evans, cornerback Marlon Pollard, running back Cierre Wood) and one of its top remaining targets (safety Byron Moore) are all from California. And it’s a place where Weis had spent considerable time re-recruiting his own verbal commits through a firestorm of unflattering publicity surrounding the soon-to-be fifth-year head coach and his future at ND.

“I would say it played as expected,” said national recruiting editor for Scout.com Allen Wallace of ND’s decision to retain Weis after a tumultuous 6-6 season. “Most people didn’t really think Charlie was going to be gone. Everybody knows there’s a big concern at the University of Notre Dame regarding whether he’s the right guy for the job. But that’s not singular to Notre Dame. Any coach with that kind of record (28-21) after this much time on the job would be viewed as on the hot seat. So it’s not just Notre Dame.

“Also I think people are aware of the fact that Notre Dame has got to find the right guy if he’s not Charlie. I think they need to find the right guy before they decide to let Charlie go, because they’ve already been through the routine with Urban Meyer.

“It would have been asking a lot for Notre Dame in this situation to, behind the scenes, have come up with the right guy who was also available and then get Charlie out. I don’t think that looked like it was possible timing-wise, and also Notre Dame has recruited some really good talent. It made a lot of sense to allow Charlie one more year to prove to those kids that he’s got what it takes. But Charlie’s now at the point where next year, he won’t have any excuses.”

There are not a lot of numbers out there in terms of who is left to add to the 18 verbal commitments Weis already has, but there are some big names.

They start with linebackers Manti Te’o of Honolulu and Jelani Jenkins of Olney. Md. Both are ranked among the top 10 players in the country regardless of position. There’s also Moore (Harbor City, Calif.) and fellow safety Jawanza Starling (Tallahasse, Fla.); fullbacks Tyler Gaffney (San Diego, Calif.) and Toben Opurum (Plano Texas); and defensive end sleeper Davon Custis (Columbus, Ohio).

"They could use more tackles on offense, but with Xavier Nixon out of play, they seemed to have missed out," Lemming said. "The one spot where they really needed help and fell short was defensive line.

"This is a top 10 class now, but if they don't add anybody and others keep piling guys in, it will slip to somewhere between 10 and 20."

At least there has not been slippage, and the biggest concern was that the California kids would be the easiest and most-desirable targets to poach but so far they’re all holding firm. In fact, Wood has instructed his high school coach to throw out all the mail that comes to him except those correspondences coming from the Irish coaching staff.

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And of the 18 commits, Wood figures to be one of the candidates for early playing time in 2009, even though he is at a position in which there are four veteran backs ahead of him. ND’s second-lowest rushing output ever (113.4) and Wood’s monster numbers again this season will open Weis’ mind to a freshman climbing the depth chart early and often.

Defensive lineman Tyler Stockton (6-1, 290) will get an early opportunity to see if he’s a fit, based on need, as will kicker Nick Tausch and long snapper Jordan Cowart.

The highest-rated offensive lineman -- Chris Watt of Glen Ellyn, Ill. -- is at a position where Notre Dame could probably redshirt him, though they won’t ever use that particular terminology. Same with most of the linebackers they’ve gotten commitments from to date, but Te’o and/or Jenkins are advanced enough to force their way onto the field.