There wouldn't be any last-minute change of heart from Harrison Smith.

He made his decision, donned his Notre Dame hat, and officially committed to play football for the Fighting Irish in front of family, friends and media on Friday afternoon.

It wasn't a decision made quickly or easily for the All-State defensive back at Catholic High School.

"Tennessee and Notre Dame have both been leaders," Smith said. "It was just back and forth through the whole process.

"Lately, I just kept coming back to Notre Dame and decided that's where I wanted to go."

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Smith said he called Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer early Friday to let him know of his decision.

"I couldn't have asked for anybody to recruit me any better than Tennessee did," Smith said. "They did it with class and never said I'm the hometown kid, I have to go there.

"They always said do what's best for you, even if it is Notre Dame as long as you'll be happy. I couldn't have asked more from their coaches."

A chance to compete early for a position in Notre Dame's secondary was a major factor.

Tom Zbikowski graduates after earning third-team All-America recognition at safety this season.

"I want to do the best I can so I can play as early as I can," Smith said. "That was a factor, but the main thing was just being comfortable."

Catholic coach Mark Pemberton has no doubt Smith with will compete, and compete early, for playing time.

"He'll go in and play," Pemberton said. "The question is will it be his freshman or sophomore year. I really think he can help them this next year.

"He's a quality kid who's very intelligent so it won't take him long to catch on to the system. I think he'll go in and contribute right off the bat."

Steve Smith, Harrison's father and a plastic surgeon, took the analytical approach to the whole recruiting process.

"I trained for a lot of years in medicine and we train in the scientific method," he said. "We try to gather facts. What we decided when we first started this process, when it looked like he was going to have several options, we all agreed to take being a fan out of it."

Smith admits he grew up a Tennessee fan.

He just wasn't sure he fit into the Vols' system as a candidate to play safety and play early.

"Notre Dame just came into the picture and I just felt like it fit me," he said. "There has been some pressure, but that comes with it, especially in a town with such a big football school right down the road.

"It has been kind of hard, but you can't complain about getting recruited."

Smith's performance at last spring's Nike Camp in Athens, Ga., helped solidify his stature as a big-time recruit. He posted the fastest time in the shuttle run and one of the best 40-yard-dash times among the 600 participants.

He has been invited to the East Meets West All-American Game on Jan. 6 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

Smith made three trips to South Bend, once in 2005 to see Notre Dame defeat Tennessee, and twice this year when the Irish played Penn State and Stanford.

While hometown pressure began to build, Smith began to lean more and more in the direction of South Bend.

"What we tried to do with Harrison is gather information and challenge him with questions, but he had to make the decision along the way," Steve Smith said. "I think he has come to the conclusion that all the information leads him to Notre Dame.

"I think he's at peace with that. Even though it has been very hard not to go to Tennessee, he does feel like that's his best fit and where his future will be the best."

National Signing Day is Feb. 7. All Smith wants is to get to Notre Dame and see what the next step in his future will be.

"I'm looking forward to getting into camp, competing, just seeing what the different level is like," he said. "That's the main thing I'm looking forward to."