Brian Smith Class: Sophomore Hometown: Overland Park, KS High School: St. Thomas Aquinas Height / Weight: 6-3 / 239 Position: Outside Linebacker Birthdate: 01/08/1989

CAREER: Bright, young talent made tremendous impact as a freshman and worked his way into the starting lineup by season's end ... one of three freshmen who started on the defense and one of eight freshmen who started during the '07 campaign ... appeared in 11 games and started the final three contests at outside linebacker ... totaled 25 tackles including 1.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, one interception and one forced fumble ... intercepted Boston College's Matt Ryan and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

2007 (FRESHMAN): Enjoyed strong start to his Notre Dame career as he appeared in 11 contests (did not play vs. Georgia Tech) and earned increased playing time throughout the season ... started the final three games at outside linebacker ... totaled 25 tackles with 1.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, one interception (returned 25 yards for a touchdown) and forced one fumble ... made an immediate impact for the Irish as a freshman ... gained the first playing time of his career vs. Michigan recording two tackles ... registered his first interception in an Irish uniform vs. Boston College ... returned the interception 25 yards for a touchdown ... set his season high in tackles vs. Navy registering five tackles ... started the final three games of the season at outside linebacker vs. Air Force, Duke and Stanford ... logged 143:31 of playing time and made 36 special teams appearances.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Rated the No. 13 inside linebacker in the country and second-best prospect in Kansas by Rivals.com ... rated the number-17 outside linebacker in the nation by Tom Lemming ... Scout.com rated him the third-best player in Kansas and the 30th-best middle linebacker in the country ... one of 11 Notre Dame signees named to the ESPN 150 list ... rated the number-four inside linebacker by ESPN ... credited with 126 tackles and nine sacks during senior season and earned All-Metro honors from the Kansas City Star ... helped lead his high school to the state semifinals for the second-straight season before falling to the eventual state champions ... won first two playoff games in senior year by a combined score of 110-8 ... recorded 100 tackles, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception he returned for a touchdown during junior year ... played for coach Kevin Kopecky at Saint Thomas Aquinas ... born Jan. 8, 1989 ... father, Chris, played fullback at Notre Dame from 1981-84 and is currently on the board of directors of the Notre Dame Monogram Club ... full name is Brian C. Smith ... enrolled in First Year of Studies.