Wallace believes this class could have withstood a head coaching change, but that the school made the right move for now.

“I think the California kids chose Notre Dame because of Notre Dame,” he said. “I’m not one who’s going to say it’s all because of this coach -- Notre Dame made this happen or (assistant coach) Brian Polian was so impressive that he made Cierre Wood say yes.If Charlie Weis and Brian Polian were at Cincinnati, would those guys have these three kids going to Cincinnati? No. They wouldn’t even get a whiff.

“But it’s Notre Dame, and football goes in cycles. And people understand Notre Dame will be back. We don’t know when it’s going to happen, but it’s going to. There’s too much involved.

“There’s too much historical significance. There’s too much blood on the soil. There’s just too much greatness, too much legacy -- all the words you can think of when you’re talking about what tradition really means and why people hold onto things.

“It’s like family. Great families they don’t bust apart. Eventually, they fix their problems and eventually see happy days again. And I think Notre Dame occupies such a giant spot in the world of college football that it won’t stay down forever. It can’t because of the giant emotional investment that thousands and thousands have had in ND for over a hundred years. It’s going to come back and when it does, Irish eyes will be smiling.”

More news

Joe Raymond / AP

Who will be the starting QB?

After Notre Dame's Blue and Gold game, it appears to be a three-way race for the starting QB position. Keith Arnold breaks down this race and each area of the offense as he projects the opening day starting lineup.

A Blue and Gold glimpse

CFT: ND AD confident playoff will have room for Irish

Headlines

• Label

CFT: Notre Dame QB Rees pleads not guilty

Irish: Rees, Calabrese face uncertainty after arrests

CFT: Rees arrested, charged with resisting officer

Irish: DE Lynch quits Irish football program

Kelly throws more at his four quarterbacks

CFT: Miles keeps digging his own hole on Kiel

Irish: Former ND QB Blair Kiel passes away at 50

Irish: David Robinson's son headed to ND