Priority check

Sporting News, The, Feb 3, 1997 by Teddy Greenstein

"Not near enough background work had been done on a lot of those kids," Davie says. "A lot of those were just names, not actual candidates for Notre Dame."

Davie has many strong candidates left; several of the nation's top players were expected to visit in the recruiting period's final days. "He's extremely confident that things will work out this year," says Tim Prister, editor of Blue & Gold Illustrated, which covers Notre Dame. "We're all surprised with how calm he is."

Lemming cautioned that all first-year coaches struggle.

"Next year is when he'll be measured," Lemming says. "He'll have a full year of evaluations. But he has all the ingredients to be a great recruiter--he's personable, intelligent and hardworking."

And certainly knows his priorities.

Teddy Greenstein covers Notre Dame for the Chicago Tribune.