National Recruiting Blotter: Spring Football Games Are Commitment Gold Mines

A flood of 2013 verbal commitments coincided with Saturday’s slew of spring scrimmages. Spring games are fertile ground for recruiting, since they mark the first chance for coaches to show off to prospects how they would fit into the program.

Northwestern scored big with its first commitment of the 2013, four star quarterback Matt Alviti. The Maine South (Park Ridge, Ill.) product led his team to a state championship in 2010.

Alviti’s listed at 6-foot and 180 pounds, a frame similar to likely 2012 NU starting quarterback Kain Colter. Assuming Alviti puts on weight, he could fit Pat Fitzgerald’s system in much the same fashion as Dan Persa in 2010, prior to rupturing his Achilles’ tendon. Persa played as a two-way QB then, surpassing 500 yards rushing to go with nearly 2600 yards passing.

Alviti chose to stay close to home, going with NU over Michigan State. Rivals.com reported he was originally in the mix for Notre Dame, but the Irish instead picked up a commitment from the similarly skilled Malik Zaire (Archbishop Alter/Kettering, Ohio) two weeks prior. Rivals ranks Zaire its No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the 2013 class, two spots ahead of Alviti.

Speaking of the Irish, Notre Dame hosts its Blue-Gold Game on April 21.

UND’s rival in Ann Arbor, Michigan had some high profile guests at its scrimmage. Among them was defensive lineman Christian Lacouture, who told Scout.com he was “blown away” by his experience. He did not, however, give a commitment.

Clemson continued a good week on the recruiting trail, today getting a pledge from linebacker and running back Dorian O’Daniel (Good Counsel High/Olney, Md.). O’Daniel will come to CU as a linebacker in all likelihood. He’s the second highly touted prospect Dabo Swinney pinned down this week, the other coming from tailback Wayne Gallman (Grayson High/Loganville, Ga.).

Gallman is the prep teammate of Rivals.com’s No. 1 overall ’13 prospect, Robert Nkemdiche. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Gallman’s commitment helps the Tigers in their pursuit of Nkemdiche’s service.

SEC programs are in hot pursuit of Nkemdiche, too. He visited LSU last month and rated the trip “a 10” to the AJC.