Ian Book Flips To Notre Dame

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford wasn't going to let the quarterback that he wanted this cycle go on vacation without seeing South Bend.

El Dorado Hills (Calif.) Oak Ridge three-star quarterback Ian Book was on a cruise last week in the Caribbean when Sanford finally convinced him and his family to take a trip to Notre Dame on the way home.

Book, who was committed to Washington State at the time, said he wasn't sure what to think about the Irish, but after a two-day visit to campus last Wednesday, he began to get a feel for what Sanford and the rest of the coaching staff where all about.

"I just fell in love with Notre Dame," Book said on the phone late Tuesday night. "I got the whole campus tour on the visit and I went into [head coach] Brian Kelly's office. He offered me a scholarship and I told him that I just needed sometime to think things over with my family."

It didn't take long.

Book said he committed to Sanford late Tuesday night because he was familiar with the coach and sold on what Notre Dame had to offer as a school, and football program.

"I had started talking to Coach Sanford, who I have known for a longtime now since he was at Boise State, a couple of months ago, and he kept just telling me that we could only talk so much without me seeing it. So when he talked me into the visit after the cruise, we flew to Chicago instead of home to see what it was about.

"He told me it was going to get serious, and it did."

Book said the most difficult part of his decision was cutting ties with Washington State, but that's in large part why he waited a week to make the flip.

"It was respect out of Washington State," he said. "I just didn't want to not tell them. I really wasn't thinking about visiting any other schools, but then Notre Dame popped up and with the tradition they have, it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up."

Book is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 18 pro-style quarterback in the country and the No. 67 recruit in California. The 6-0, 193-pound quarterback also held offers from Harvard, Yale, UNLV, Nevada and San Jose State. He threw for 2,025 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior.

More on the commitment...

Analysis: What it all means for Notre Dame.

Top Plays: Book in action.

Will this effect the Hunter Johnson recruitment? Maybe.