Irish land five-star back
After just a couple weeks of progress Notre Dame has completed its late season surge with one of the top playmakers in the country.
Five-star running back Greg Bryant has given a verbal commitment to the Irish, capping a recruitment that seemed to have little life between the two parties a month ago. Bryant also considered Auburn, Florida State, South Carolina and Tennessee.
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Bryant's father confirmed the news to Rivals.com via text message.
"One hundred percent (graduation rate) for minority athletes, 97 percent for team graduation," father Greg Bryant Sr. said of the reasons behind his son's commitment. "I like those odds. Everyone else 50 percent or below. It's bigger than the game of football."
Bryant becomes the second five-star prospect to commit to Notre Dame, joining linebacker Jaylon Smith.
Oklahoma scored a commitment from the 5-foot-11, 197-pound prospect March 31 on the heels of an unofficial visit. Bryant would go on to reopen the recruiting process in July. Scholarship offers on the table included Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Florida State, South Carolina, USC and Tennessee, among others.
Notre Dame offered in January and picked up some immediate traction through a relationship starting to build with assistant coach Tony Alford, who recruits Florida. Bryant hails from Delray Beach.
"They have great academics and I'm real close to coach Tony," Bryant told Irish Illustrated in February. "We always talk a lot and he's just real cool. It seems like that would be a good place."
Coming out of his de-commitment from Oklahoma, however, it appeared Notre Dame as on the outside looking in. Bryant had not been listing the Irish as a potential landing spot as recently as October.
But once the season drew to a close Alford returned to Florida to pick things up with Bryant and scored an official visit, which occurred this weekend.
Bryant joined several committed prospects for the postseason awards show. Before leaving town he committed, becoming the 22nd member of the class after Washington linebacker Danny Mattingly de-committed earlier in the week.
Rivals.com lists Bryant as the second-best running back in the country and No. 16 prospect overall.
