Notre Dame received yet another recruit today in the person of 4-star safety Dan McCarthy. If the headline sounds familiar, it's because it is: Dan's older brother Kyle also plays DB for the Irish.

This recruiting success, the latest in an embarrassment of riches for ND, has special significance for this blogger. Dan is soon to be a proud graduate of my alma mater, Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, OH. In fact, last year Dan led the Cardinals to their sixth state title in school history while playing QB and DB. (Brother Kyle did the same in 2004.) Mooney's former longtime football coach and current AD, Don Bucci, is also a Notre Dame alum, which I'm sure helped out in recruiting the McCarthy's to the Irish.

To look at the verbal from another perspective, it's yet another sign that Weis and company are returning to ND's recruiting roots in the midwest, especially in Ohio. There's no reason ND should abandon the state to that school down in Columbus, especially when it comes to academically-minded players like Dan. It's even more important that ND get involved in the Ohio Catholic schools, like Mooney, which are consistently football powerhouses and natural feeders for the Irish. I know we all get giggly when we snare a recruit out of California or Florida, but let's not forget that the midwest is our base of operations.

So congratulations to Dan, and good luck to the Cardinals this season. Welcome to the ND family, and we'll see you in 2008.