Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford has had El Dorado Hills (Calif.) Oak Ridge standout Ian Book at the top of his 2016 board for months.

It just hasn’t been known publicly.

Till now.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Book has committed to Notre Dame.

“Coach Sanford the relationship with Coach Sanford, I like him as a coach and person,” Book said. “We both get along. He’s a guy I really want to coach me."

A verbal to Washington State since April, Book took a visit to South Bend about two weeks ago, fell in love and gave his verbal to Sanford on Tuesday. The two have been building a strong rapport for quite some time now.

“I met the whole staff, really liked the rest of the staff. The football speaks for itself. The football is ridiculous, the highest level you can get, always been a dream of mine. And the education, as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized how important that is, and four years now is 40 years that will benefit you, and Notre Dame’s education is as the top and that pulled me in as well.”

The 247Sports Composite ranks Book as the nation’s No. 21 pro-style passer. As a junior he completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,025 yards and 18 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. He is commit No. 14 for the Irish in 2016.

“The best way to describe Ian is his accuracy,” said The Range founder and Book’s personal quarterbacks coach Will Hewlett. “His efficiency and accuracy are on point. Very, very intelligent with the football. What you’ll notice when you watch his film is his level of athleticism to extend the play. Although he doesn’t fit the traditional dual-threat cat, the kid has some impressive feet and hips and is extremely elusive. He’s a legitimate 4.7 laser, he’s extremely fast, but you don’t see it as much with the way the offense is designed.

Book was one of the quarterbacks Sanford went and saw during the spring evaluation period.

“He’s one of those types of kids, every time he threw for a coach or they watched his game film he has come away with positive remarks about how accurate he is,” Hewlett said. “The ball won’t hit the ground when it’s on air.

“The big thing why is he under the radar, he’s 6-foot tall. Add three more inches and he’d be in the same conversation with Jacob Eason and all those guys in my opinion.”

