With Weis out, which of the Fighting Irish will go pro?

According to several published reports, Notre Dame has fired head coach Charlie Weis. In five season with the Fighting Irish, Weis accumulated a 35-27 record. In the last three, though, Notre Dame went 16-21 with no wins against a ranked opponent.

Notre Dame players are meeting today vote on whether or not the 6-6 team will play in a bowl game, if invited. Athletic director Jack Swarbick has reportedly said he’d consider the player vote in deciding on a bowl trip.

One of the big issues now Notre Dame is which talented juniors will enter the NFL Draft. Typically when a coach is fired more players than usual will jump to the pros.

Chief among those eligible to enter early is quarterback Jimmy Clausen. There has been a lot of speculation of late about Clausen going pro. After a season in which he threw 28 touchdowns and only four interceptions, expect Clausen to be in the draft.

The next best player after Clausen is wide receiver Golden Tate. The junior’s season really took off when he became the Irish’s primary receiver following an injury to Michael Floyd that knocked him out of five games. On the year, Tate has 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns. A top special teams performer, Tate should go pro.

Leading rusher Armando Allen also has the choice to go pro. On the season, he has 697 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Allen has shown throughout his career that he projects to little more than a backup at the next level. Because of that, it might best for him to stay in school and hope to have a breakthrough 2010 campaign. The same can be said for linemen Dan Wenger and Chris Stewart.

It may be a coin flip situation for inside linebacker Brian Smith. He’s second on the team in tackles with 71. He has good size at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, but isn’t a playmaker.

If you’re wondering about tight end Kyle Rudolph and Floyd, both are sophomores and ineligible for the draft. When they are, however, both should be considered first-round talents.