Brian Polian minced few words and dove right in.
Notre Dame’s recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator was hosting the football program’s latest “Notre Dame Minute” video, and this time, he had a guest he could use to he and his staff’s advantage — former Irish safety and NFL All-Pro Harrison Smith.
And Smith could help Notre Dame in more ways than keeping its fans entertained amid the sports shutdown.
Besides his status as former first-round pick and NFL star, Smith is an example of one thing Notre Dame tries to do every year: pluck players out of SEC territory that SEC teams want and beat SEC heavyweights head to head.
Smith — a Knoxville, Tenn., native and former top-200 player — spurned offers from Alabama, Auburn, and hometown Tennessee to play for Notre Dame. Polian, upon starting the virtual powwow, asked Smith where he was spending his offseason riding out the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith replied that he was indeed back home.
There was the opportunity.
“I’m glad you mentioned Knoxville,” Polian said. “Things like this are seen by a number of our recruits, and recruiting has been a hot topic right now.
“Obviously a difficult choice to leave SEC country and the University of Tennessee and choose to come to Notre Dame.”
Polian asked Smith to explain why he did it. Smith replied with a free recruiting pitch.
“The world is bigger than where you grew up,” Smith said. “I love where I grew up. I obviously come back. But there are a lot of different places where you can go and develop. For me, Notre Dame was the best place and something I couldn’t say no to. Football is obviously upper-echelon level, incredible scheduling opportunities.”
For the last month, Notre Dame and every other college football staff has been confined to recruiting from their home offices and communication over text, phone calls or Zoom. It’ll stay that way until at least May 31, when the NCAA dead period instituted because of the pandemic is scheduled to end.
Head coach Brian Kelly has repeated the same recruiting tune during his media appearances. He wants recruits to finish the process, don’t rush into a decision because of the strange times and take a moment to dive into Notre Dame’s distinctions.
The message can get stale when it’s the same voices over the same medium. Smith was a change of tune.
“One of my best friends to this day is my roommate,” Smith said. “I lived four years with him. The type of connections you make at Notre Dame are lifelong, and they don’t just have to be football players hanging out with football players. You mix with the whole community.”
Notre Dame has several 2021 targets from southern states. The Irish even had a commitment from Deion Colzie, a top-75 player from right in Athens, Ga. He decommitted in March, though, and Georgia is in the mix to land him. Notre Dame is trying to bring him back in the fold.
The Irish have another Peach State native committed in four-star tight end Cane Berrong, who held eight SEC offers before committing in June 2019. They’re also after top-150 receiver and Atlanta product Jayden Thomas.
In Florida, some of Notre Dame’s biggest targets include four-star cornerbacks Philip Riley and Terrion Arnold, and three-star wide receiver Jaden Alexis. SEC schools are after each. Three-star offensive lineman Caleb Johnson is an Indiana native who moved to Florida in high school and has since picked up several SEC offers, including Alabama and Auburn.
One other recent offer at wide receiver is three-star Alabama native Christian Lewis, though he doesn’t currently hold offers from the in-state SEC schools. Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina and Vanderbilt are among the SEC teams that have offered.
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