SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The selection of Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham as the next head coach at Notre Dame drew praise from other coaches, Irish players and recruits, even the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"He's a beautiful person," said South Carolina coach Lou Holtz, a former Notre Dame coach whom Willingham was an assistant coach under in the 1997 Hula Bowl.

"I got to spend a lot of time with him and came away exceptionally impressed with him as a person," Holtz said. "More importantly than his coaching ability and organization abilities is he's very low key, very laid back.

"I think Tyrone is an outstanding football coach," said Dennis Green, coach of the Minnesota Vikings, where Willingham was an assistant coach from 1992-94. "He'd do a great job for them because he understands the whole concept of being competitive but also being demanding, and mixing it with a real good blend of understanding."

Added Vikings tackle Brad Badger, who played for Willingham at Stanford: "I hate to see Stanford lose such a great coach. He was really part of the reason why I enjoyed my time there. He's a great coach, he's a great teacher."

University of Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon said Willingham being the Irish coach could be scary for other teams.

"Notre Dame will skyrocket more than anything with Tyrone. He's done a great job at Stanford, and he'll do a great job at Notre Dame. Now instead of recruiting the West Coast, he's be able to go national. He can go anywhere in the country to get kids," Shannon said. "He can come down to Miami, he can go to New Jersey, he can go to Seattle, he can go to L.A. He can get at all parts of the country being at Notre Dame."

Irish players home for Christmas break said they were told by university officials that they might be hearing from the media that Willingham was a candidate for the job. They said they are excited about his hiring.

"I think once he steps in, it'll be great," said quarterback Matt LoVecchio, who dropped from being a starter as a freshman to being a backup as a sophomore. "I think it's a good thing for our team as far as us having a leader. We're just ready to go."

Lineman Jamie Ryan, a high school senior from Tamaqua, Pa., who has announced he plans to attend Notre Dame next season, said he likes the choice.

"He's a great coach, I have respect for him," he said.

Quarterback Chris Olsen of Wayne, N.J., said he doesn't know Willingham.

"It's going to be interesting when I go out there to see what his philosophy is. I'm familiar with who he is, but they didn't recruit me at all out there at Stanford. I know he runs a pro-style offense, which fits me well," he said. "I'm kind of relieved now that they have a coach. That's a big relief."

Jackson, who had urged Notre Dame to consider minority coaches, said the university had taken a leadership role.

"I think it's a tremendous national breakthrough," Jackson said. "Every barrier has a huge breakthrough, from playing center, to playing quarterback, to can a black be a captain of the team. Now the issue is coaches."

But Shannon, who is black, said he doesn't get caught up in the fact that Willingham is black.

"The one thing I believe is that if a coach can coach, he deserves a shot. Tyrone can coach without a doubt. He's done a great job at Stanford, and people are looking at Tyrone," he said. "People get caught up into this Afro-American deal. It's not Afro-American; it's coaches. We're all coaches, and that's how I feel about it."

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