When Danny Spond (Littleton, Colo./Columbine) arrived for his official visit to Notre Dame this past weekend, he was down to the Irish and TCU.
Now he is down to one.
On Sunday, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound athlete verbally committed to Notre Dame and head coach Brian Kelly. On Saturday, he knew it was a done deal.
"I had a feeling it would be here, but I wanted to see it and know for sure," Spond said in a text message to Irish Sports Daily on Saturday. He also had scholarship offers from Stanford, Duke, Wyoming and Colorado, where he was once verbally committed.
Spond becomes the 21st player to verbally commit to Notre Dame in the class-of-2010, and the fourth from the weekend, joining h-back Derek Roback (Waverly, Ohio/Waverly), quarterback Luke Massa (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and defensive end Bruce Heggie (Mount Dora, Fla./Mount Dora).
A prep quarterback, as a senior before a head injury ended his season just six games into it, Spond accounted for 883 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a junior, he rushed for 874 yards and 10 scores, while adding 511 yards passing and eight touchdowns to just one interception.
"Playing for Notre Dame is a true honor," Spond told ISD on Monday. "I have been blessed by God for this opportunity. Coach Kelly is not only an awesome coach, but a great man. I look forward to being a part of the Notre Dame tradition. It's my next home. I have God to thank for it and my ability."
Spond isn't sure what position he'll be playing next fall.
"Coach said he will give me an opportunity to play wherever, but at the same time I will play wherever the team needs me and I trust the coaching staff 100 percent to put me in the best position for success."
