Notre Dame lands Texas cornerback

By BOB WIENEKE,Tribune Staff Writer

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Notre Dame lands Texas cornerback

Charlie Weis discusses the upcoming game versus USC during a weekly press conference on Oct. 13. (Tribune File Photo/MARCUS MARTER)

By WSBT 24/7 News

Story Created: Oct 31, 2009 at 3:30 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 31, 2009 at 4:41 PM EST

Because the football recruiting calendar says that college coaches cannot speak to prospects while off campus, cornerback Toney Hurd could not meet with Notre Dame associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator Corwin Brown on Friday, when Brown was visiting Hurd’s school: Marshall High in Missouri City, Texas.

That served as a speed bump for Hurd, who wanted to commit to Notre Dame.

“Yeah, it was kind of weird,” Hurd said. “I didn’t want to violate any rules.”

Hurd was allowed, however, to call the Irish coaching staff, so he dialed up ND head coach Charlie Weis to alert the Irish staff of his decision.

“He was ecstatic,” said Hurd, who became the 18th player to commit to ND’s recruiting class of 2010.

Months remain before Hurd will officially attend college, but he seems to already understand the academic challenges ahead. He visited South Bend for the September Michigan State game, but if you’re looking for any wild tales, look elsewhere. He spent a night studying.

“So it’s not like we went down there and had fun and partied,” said Hurd, who picked the Irish over Auburn , Oregon , Cal and Ole Miss.

Hurd became the third cornerback to commit to the class, joining Floridians Lo Wood and Spencer Boyd, but that doesn’t necessarily mean ND is finished at the position. The Irish are still pursuing teammates Cody Riggs and LaMarcus Joyner from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale , Fla.

CBS College Sports Network analyst Tom Lemming believes Riggs is leaning to Florida , but Joyner remains in play after visiting South Bend for the USC game. He recently told Lemming he was overwhelmed by his visit.

“I think they have a legitimate shot at Joyner,” Lemming said. “For sure they would take four corners if they got Joyner.”

Hurd earns three-plus stars on Lemming’s five-star scale, and Lemming lists athleticism, a smooth backpedal, running ability and fluidity as his strengths.

“I think he has the potential to be a very good corner,” Lemming said.

Part of the importance of landing Hurd is the fact that he’s from Texas . Notre Dame has three starters – offensive guard Chris Stewart, defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore and kicker Nick Tausch – from the Lone Star State , but it’s considered one of the nation’s top producers of talent, and a state where the ND staff could find even further success.

“Getting a Texas kid could help them get that Texas pipeline going again,” Lemming said.

That was part of the plan when Notre Dame decided to play off-site games, such as Saturday night’s contest against Washington State in San Antonio . Hurd said Weis told him he was “ready to get me up there,” and Hurd is contemplating enrolling for the spring semester to get a jump-start on college.

Hurd, who lives in the Houston area, however, wasn’t going to be able to attend Saturday night’s game. He had a game himself and was going to record the ND-WSU tilt.

“If I didn’t have a game,” he said, “I’d be down there rooting them on.”

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