This year's award for best recruiter in enemy territory goes to Notre Dame special teams coach Brian Polian.

The son of Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian, he pulled off a major West Coast coup by persuading three top recruits to play football at Notre Dame.

Punahou (Honolulu) linebacker Manti Te'o, Inglewood (Calif.) receiver Shaquelle Evans and Santa Clara (Oxnard, Calif.) running back Cierre Wood are in USA TODAY's top 60 composite rankings.

The three spurned Southern California and UCLA, among others, to play for the Irish. Polian did the legwork and helped give Notre Dame a top 25 recruiting class. Rivals.com named Polian one of its top recruiters this year.

"He's really created foundations," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "I walk into high schools with him, and everyone knows who he is. He's a bulldog. He's a grinder."

Without Te'o, Evans and Wood, Notre Dame's recruiting class "wouldn't be broken, but it sure is a whole lot better with them," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said.

Polian worked hard to get Te'o and has the airline miles to prove it. He estimates he made at least 10 trips to Hawaii over 14 months.

Polian persuaded Te'o, a Mormon and Trojans fan, to bypass BYU and USC for the Irish. "This recruitment presented a different set of challenges than I've ever encountered before," Polian said.

More where that came from: USC had an interesting recruiting year. It lost recruits for various reasons — Te'o selected Notre Dame; Cathedral (Los Angeles) receiver Randall Carroll and Carson (Calif.) tight end/receiver Morrell Presley de-committed and signed with UCLA, and Evans and Wood shunned the Trojans.

And yet, USC still had a top-three recruiting class, which means even when coach Pete Carroll doesn't get exactly who he wants, he gets the talent he needs. "Every one of these players will have a chance to contribute this year, and we expect them to do so early on, especially at the linebacker and defensive end spots," Carroll said.

Carroll didn't say his name or position in that quote, but Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) quarterback Matt Barkley is enrolled at Southern California and will participate in spring drills. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said, "I would not bet against him being the starter this year. He's ready to go."

Briefly: Barbe (Lake Charles) cornerback Janzen Jackson, a longtime LSU commitment, signed with Tennessee on Thursday. He is Rivals.com's No. 2 cornerback. Saturday's basketball matchup between USA TODAY Super 25 No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 2 St. Benedict's Prep (Newark) lost some appeal when No. 9 St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) defeated St. Benedict's 88-62 Wednesday.