Tar Heels' Little faces team he snubbed

In February of 2007, Durham Hillside's Greg Little delighted North Carolina fans on signing day by reneging on a commitment to Notre Dame and signing with the Tar Heels as a member of coach Butch Davis' first recruiting class.

Now Little gets a chance to face the team he snubbed when North Carolina plays host to Notre Dame on Saturday.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said during his weekly news conference Tuesday that he harbors no hard feelings toward Little, who plays running back for the Tar Heels.

"Anytime you're involved in recruiting, the toughest thing to do is get a guy to leave his home state," Weis said. "At the end of the day, he felt more comfortable staying home. Do I like that happening? No, but who can really fault a guy who stays home?"

Weis plans to continue recruiting in North Carolina. He said Davis and the Tar Heels are often a factor when Notre Dame pursues players in the Atlantic Coast region, but has three key defensive players from North Carolina on his roster in Bunn's Kerry Neal, Davie County High alumnus Raeshon McNeil and Matthews Butler High alum Robert Blanton.

"We don't go after every kid in the state," Weis said. "But every year we'll go into North Carolina and go after a handful of guys and try to come out with a couple."

– Ken Tysiac