Notre Dame Fighting Irish land one of nation's top linebackers - SportingNews.com

Jaylon Smith, one of the nation’s top linebackers, committed to Notre Dame this weekend.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker, rated No. 49 on the Sporting News Top 125, picked the Fighting Irish over Ohio State. Smith is the 13th commitment to Notre Dame’s 2013 class.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly landed one of the 2013 class' top linebackers. (AP Photo)

“The thing was, when I saw it, I knew,” Smith told 247Sports.com, which ranks him as the No. 7 overall player in the country. “But the thing was, when you first see something and you’re so geeked up about it, later on, it doesn’t end up being so cool. I wanted to make sure that’s where I wanted to go. It never wore off. And I wanted to get back to Ohio State and give other teams a shot and see if anyone was better than Notre Dame.”

Smith, from Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne, Ind., visited Notre Dame three times and told 247Sports that on his first visit, March 3, he knew South Bend was where he wanted to play college ball.

The linebacker also played running back last season for Bishop Luers, which has won three consecutive state championships. He recorded 51 tackles and eight sacks while totaling 1,319 rushing yard, 25 TDs and another four scores on pass receptions.

He also told 247Sports that he’s done with recruitingâ€"except for recruiting future teammates to Notre Dame.

“Hopefully the other schools will stop sending letters,” he said. “I have over 2,000 letters.”