To begin with, he's been blessed with a marvelous body that's chock full of athletic aptitude. Listed at an impressive 6-4, 230-pounds, Schmidt possesses that rare combo of both power and speed.

He can be either bull or thoroughbred depending upon what's required at a given moment. Physically, the guy has the goods.

Schmidt is also living a charmed life in that he'll be playing his college ball close to home. Schmidt will have the chance of experiencing the dream of local boy making good.

As resident of Jasper, Indiana, Schmidt will have to motor less than six hours by car to arrive at his new base of operations, South Bend.

As such, his family, friends and built-in fan base won't have that far to travel to lend support and watch him perform. He'll have a ready made support system close by. 

There's another reason why Schmidt might wish to count his lucky stars. He's arriving at Notre Dame at a most propitious period. His timing couldn't be more exquisite.

For not only are the Irish on the verge of a football revival but the position he'll play is also due for a rebirth.

At long last, ND is ready to make the fullback spot relevant again and give it a point of emphasis. And Schmidt seems destined to be the beneficiary of that renewed commitment to a position that's been too often overlooked in the recent past.

Finally, Schmidt has something else going for him. Luke's been gifted with a face from central casting. He simply looks like a football stud.

Just check out that cropped brownish-blond hair atop a handsome face that features a rugged chin and a pair of determined eyes. You take one look at him and he appears to have All-American written all over him. 

So just about everything seems in place for Schmidt to be an Irish force of nature for years to come. Given his pedigree, makeup and potential, betting on the freshman back to be a hit seems like a sure thing. It's hard to imagine him not seizing the moment.

No less an authority than Charlie Weis is on record as saying that he's expecting big things out of his stay-at-home recruit. Revealingly, Weis calls Schmidt a "dynamic football player" whom the coach believes will step in and contribute early.

That's high praise indeed when you consider that Weis can be sparing even in his compliments to his stars let alone to someone who has yet to participate in a Division 1 game.

But Weis knows talent and he can't help but project how a multi-skilled player like Schmidt might augment his already potent offense. Weis can foresee that with a bonafide weapon at fullback, enemy defenses will grow even more confused while trying to stop the Irish attack.

Weis is too shrewd a football strategist not to get meaningful production from all his backfield positions. Under his predecessors Bob Davie and Ty Willingham, the fullback basically became a non-factor. He was nothing more than a glorified blocker or a de facto sixth lineman. In no way was he a threat.

But Weis doesn't believe in neutering a position especially if it's potential for damage is immense. That's why can't he wait to get his hands on Schmidt, school him and then turn him loose.

There's no doubt the kid's a first-rate runner. In his senior season alone, he rushed for better than 2,200 yards and virtually lived in the end zone having tallied 32 touchdowns.

But what further intrigues Weis is that Schmidt has a tailback's skills packed into a fullback's body. He can scoot and burst but he can just as easily power through tacklers. They say that speed kills. Put it together with brawn and the death toll dramatically rises.

Now that's not to say that Schmidt will become a starter by default. In Weis' world, you must earn your stripes. No one gets a free pass.

Schmidt will have to show an aptitude for assimilating the offense quickly which is not always an easy task for an incoming freshman.

Luke must also exhibit a prowess at blocking, something that wasn't exactly a priority for him in high school. If Schmidt can't pick up the blitz or help keep Brady Quinn upright, he simply won't get on the field.

And let's not forget about the importance of catching the ball and developing into a dependable safety-valve. His coaches at ND have already told Schmidt he'll need to evolve into a sure-handed receiver.

Yet, this reporter thinks that Schmidt will meet all those challenges and then some. He's simply too smart, too athletic and too motivated not to rise to the occasion. This is a young man on a mission and it's hard to imagine anything getting in his way.

And if Schmidt projects out to be as good as advertised, the Irish will once again have something they haven't had for a long while. Namely, a fullback of note. Someone to rival the legacies of such stalwarts as Anthony Johnson, Marc Edwards and dare we even say it, Jerome Bettis.