Book flips his commitment

The connection Ian Book made with Notre Dame assistant coach Mike Sanford during his days at Boise State paid off in a big way Tuesday night for the Irish.

Sanford stayed in contact with Book, a three-star quarterback from El Dorado (Calif.) Oak Ridge, even though he left Boise for Notre Dame and despite the fact that Book was committed to Washington State.

The two talked occasionally, Book was convinced to take a visit to South Bend last week and on Tuesday he decided to flip his pledge to the Irish.

Without that early connection in the recruiting process, this might not have ever happened.

"I built a relationship with coach Sanford when he was at Boise and I really liked him a lot," Book said. "Once he went to Notre Dame I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. I stayed in touch with him every once in a while and one day it got more serious and he told me he was going to make this thing happen, just stay with it, it could be a long ride.

"He said from Day 1 they're going to make this thing work. I stuck with it and I was going on vacation to the Caribbean on a cruise and he told me I had to visit. He asked me once I land in Miami if I could fly right up there and he said the visit is going to blow my socks off.

"I talked to my family and they said we should take the visit. It was really important that I visit there. I was blown away on the visit. I loved the staff. I really liked coach (Brian) Kelly. The football and the education speak for itself and the campus I really liked it."

Book was floored by his Notre Dame visit but he still wanted some time to think things over. After a few days, the three-star decided to call up Washington State and tell them the news: He had decided Notre Dame was the right place.

"I told them I needed some time to go home, settle down and make my decision," Book said. "I called them and got it all figured it out. I also called Washington State and got all that figured out. They were really respectful. That's a tough call to make but they really handled it well.

"The education is going to open up so many windows. Football is going to end one day and the opportunities that school brings are ridiculous, the connections are great. Just the experiences you're going to get, where they play and the teams they play and every game is a big game, it's the best football you can play with the best education so it's the best of both worlds."