ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

With brothers at both Michigan and Penn State, offensive tackle Alex Bars (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) was facing a tough decision. Join Blake at Michigan or Brad at Penn State?

Alex went an entirely different route and followed in the footsteps of his father. The four-star lineman and the No. 55 player in the ESPN 150 committed to Notre Dame on Friday.

Joe Bars was a linebacker at Notre Dame.

“It was pretty great,” Bars said of telling his father the news. “I really appreciated him not pressuring me to go to his alma mater. I think he's pretty happy, though. He's excited for me.

“… I've been thinking hard about it these past couple months. I realized a couple weeks ago where I wanted to go, but my parents made me wait a week. Notre Dame was the best place for me.”

Bars is the fourth offensive lineman in the Irish’s class, which is quickly making a case as the best offensive line haul, at least as of May. Bars is joined by four-star guards Sam Mustipher (No. 11 among guards) and Quenton Nelson (No. 19) and three-star tackle Jimmy Byrne (No. 28). Bars is No. 7 among tackles nationally.

Notre Dame is putting a major emphasis on the offensive line for a second consecutive recruiting class. In 2013, the Irish signed two top-10 tackles and two more players in the top 30 at the position. They also signed No. 27 guard John Montelus.

Forced to nationally recruit, the Irish are doing just that in the 2014 class. Of the Irish’s 10 commitments, nine hail from different states.

Bars is the second highest-ranked commitment in the Irish’s class, which ranked No. 8 nationally before Bars’ pledge.

Michigan, where brother Blake Bars plays, and Notre Dame are scheduled to meet for the last time in 2014, which would be Alex Bars’ freshman season in South Bend. The back and forth between the brothers has not started just yet, though.

“They were disappointed I didn't go to their school, but they're happy for me,” Bars said. “Blake thinks Michigan is the best school in the country, but there hasn't been any trash-talking yet. I'm sure there will be during this season.”

WolverineNation reporter Tom VanHaaren contributed to this report.

After the first visit to Oklahoma in March, offensive lineman Alex Dalton (Troy, Ohio/Troy) was pretty sure he would wind up with the Sooners.

Following the second visit, he was sure OU was the place for him. But he still wasn’t going to rush his decision. He wanted to make the call when he felt ready.

On Friday morning, Dalton was ready. He called OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh to let him know he was pledging to the Sooners.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot here lately,” Dalton said. “There was nothing that really made me feel like I had to do it today, but I knew I wasn’t looking for anything else.”

Bedenbaugh tweeted on Friday morning he was going to be in Ohio for the day, and Dalton said Bedenbaugh spoke with his high school coach during the morning and everybody involved sensed the commitment coming.

Dalton announced a top three of OU, Indiana and Stanford in March following a busy spring break with trips to OU and Stanford. But after the second OU visit, it was more of a top one list than anything else. The Sooners were making their case, and Stanford had backed off a bit.

As the spring evaluation period continued, though, other schools made their push. Arkansas started to get in contact with him. Offers from Nebraska, Louisville and Virginia Tech came and interest from schools like Northwestern or Tennessee started to see what the interest was.

“I was open to go look at them, but I knew what I wanted,” Dalton said. “There wasn’t anything else I was looking for.”

Dalton said he had been messaging with Bedenbaugh on Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis and the relationship was only getting better with each day.

Dalton first forged his relationship with Bedenbaugh when Bedenbaugh was coaching at West Virginia. When Bedenbaugh made the move to OU, one of his first offers was to Dalton.

Dalton was comfortable with Bedenbaugh, but he had to make sure he was 100 percent sure OU met all of his requirements.

“I looked at the school itself for football,” Dalton said. “I thought about where I had the best chance to play. Where I fit in as a player and a person. The distance.

“Oklahoma is not too far away but far away enough for me to make it on my own. My family can visit and watch me play. It all worked out.”

Dalton is being recruited at center by the Sooners although he can also play offensive guard. Dalton is OU’s sixth overall commitment for the Class of 2014 and the second this week.

This is what OU fans were hoping for in getting Bedenbaugh as coach. OU’s first offensive lineman commit for the Class of 2013 came in December. This time around it is seven months earlier. And there is no doubting his commitment.

“I’m excited to have this process over,” Dalton said. “I know that if I would have waited longer, my mind wouldn’t have changed.”

When the Badgers offer a recruit from Wisconsin, it usually signals the end. Wisconsin does not produce a significant number of BCS prospects, but the ones it does have rarely leave the state.

But defensive end Billy Hirschfeld (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) was contemplating leaving for several months. Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, NC State, Nebraska and Pittsburgh also offered, so he had options.

In the end, though, Hirshfeld joined the numerous other in-state recruits to commit to Wisconsin.

“There was some work to be done,” Hirschfeld said about Wisconsin earning his commitment. “At first they didn’t know if they wanted me at offensive tackle or playing defensive tackle or defensive end, and that was under [former coach Bret] Bielema. When he left, that sank them down a little bit, because it was Bielema who offered me.”

So the 6-foot-6, 267-pound lineman made the rounds, visited a few other schools and built solid relationships elsewhere. He kept going to Wisconsin, too, once Gary Andersen was hired to replace Bielema, who left for Arkansas in December.

Andersen was not just picking up where Bielema left off with Hirschfeld, though. It was going to take some effort to catch up, which he eventually did.

“Getting to know Coach Andersen and Coach Chad, it was definitely an eye opener,” he said. “I’m comfortable with the staff and football program.”

Hirschfeld’s teammate George Panos is also committed to Wisconsin, but it was 2013 signee T.J. Watt who recruited him hardest. The two began working out together recently, and Watt kept drilling Hirschfeld about his recruitment.

“When are you going to commit to Wisconsin?” Watt would ask.

On Tuesday night, Hirschfeld’s parents asked him about his recruitment, too. Unlike Watt, Hirschfeld had an answer for his parents.

“It feels great. I got a lot of fan support from everyone that knows me whether through AAU or playing against them or friends outside of sports,” Hirschfeld said. “It’s a great feeling to play for the home state.”

Jabrill Peppers (Paramus, N.J./Paramus Catholic), the No. 2 prospect in the country, has set his decision date.

The No. 1 defensive back will make his decision live on ESPNU on May 26. With almost every program in the country targeting the talented prospect, Peppers has narrowed his list down to LSU, Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, Rutgers and Stanford.

He still plans on taking his visit to Penn State on May 18, and has already been out to Michigan, LSU and Ohio State. There might still be a surprise visit in store before the announcement as well. The five-star prospect has turned heads with his play on the field and will undoubtedly be a game changer for whichever school he picks.