Notre Dame is a school that’s been on Durham Smythe’s radar for a long time…even before the Texas tight end became a sought-after recruiter.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder from Belton High School (Belton, Texas) committed to Texas last March, but even before he backed away from that pledge in December, he still had his eye on the Irish.
Once he officially decommitted from the Longhorns, he reached out to Notre Dame and the coaches asked him to be patient as they tried to figure out a way to squeeze Smythe into their 2013 recruiting class.
He was and that patience proved worth it and on Sunday, Smythe officially became a member of the Irish. Smythe offered his commitment to Notre Dame before heading home from his official visit to South Bend this weekend. He announced the news on his Twitter account.
Smythe chose the Irish over his other finalists, Stanford and Michigan. Like Notre Dame, Stanford was a program Smythe had a deep affection for because of its blend of athletics and academics. He took an official visit to Palo Alto earlier this month and was scheduled to take an official to Ann Arbor next weekend, but that trip is now off.
Smythe’s pledge gives the Irish 23 verbal commitments in the Class of 2013 and a pair of tight end prospects, joining Mike Heuerman, who is already on campus after enrolling earlier this month.
Irish Sports Daily will have much more on this developing story today.
