SOUTH BEND, Ind. - In terms of shear numbers, the size of the recruiting class Notre Dame has assembled for 2009 rivals, in fact exceeds, those of USC and Florida, the two 800-pound gorillas in college football recruiting.

With less than eight weeks remaining until the Feb. 4 national signing day, Irish head coach Charlie Weis has received verbal commitments from 18 high school players. Southern California, the gold standard in college football's second season, if not the regular season, currently has 16 players committed, while Florida has 14.

Here, however, is the hitch. Whereas the Irish appear to be nearing the finish line in terms of gaining commitments, USC and Florida, if they hold true to past form, are just revving up for a final stretch run in which they win some and lose some in the final days, but always seem to be in serious consideration for late-committing standouts.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, could be finished. The Irish coaching staff remains in play with a handful of players, but it's not out of the question that ND finishes with an 18-man class.

The big fish dangling out there, of course, is Honolulu linebacker Manti Te'o, a player who, in the next few weeks, will get his fill of all things Irish as ND prepares to face Hawaii in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl. Weis already made a quick visit to the islands during ND's bye week in October and then another trip shortly after the season ended.

Te'o, considered by many to be the best prep linebacker in the country, visited Notre Dame for its Nov. 22 loss to Syracuse. He also lists USC, UCLA, Stanford and BYU as possible college destinations.

Te'o, however, isn't the only prime-time linebacker that remains unhitched. Jelani Jenkins of the Washington D.C. area is another player in ND's cross hairs, and he recently received a visit from Weis and Irish quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus, who recruits the area. Jenkins isn't rated as highly as Te'o, but he is still a coveted prospect, one also being courted by Penn State, Illinois, Maryland and Florida.

With only one defensive lineman — Tyler Stockton of New Jersey — in the fold, Notre Dame certainly could use more bodies at that spot. One name to keep in mind is Isaac Holmes, another Garden State product who remains uncommitted. Rivals.com lists Holmes as having interest in Florida, Maryland, Penn State, Pitt and Rutgers, among others.

Defensive end Davon Custis, who visited earlier this month for Notre Dame's banquet, appears to have narrowed his choices to Boston College and Northwestern, according to Rivals. And ND remains involved with a pair of safeties — Jawanza Starling of Tallahassee, Fla., and Byron Moore of the Los Angeles area.

Both, however, look like uphill battles. Starling lists hometown Florida State high on his list, and Moore has been committed to USC, although he visited South Bend the same weekend as Te'o.
And on offense, the list appears to be a pair of fullbacks — Tyler Gaffney of San Diego and Toben Opurum of Plano, Texas.

Army note
Six Notre Dame commits have been selected to next month's U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Tight end Jake Golic, safety/linebacker Zeke Motta and Stockton have been named to the East team while wide receiver Shaquelle Evans, running back Cierre Wood and offensive lineman Chris Watt are members of the West team.

The game will be played Saturday, Jan. 3 in San Antonio.

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