“Nasty” was the word of the day.

And not “nasty” as in the way Charlie Weis promised his Irish would play when Notre Dame hired him.

This was a day in which whispered accusations gave way to outright hostility, a day on which two prominent recruits dissed Notre Dame and Illinois was left defending its recruiting practices after signing a top-15 class.

The tone was set early by a New York Times story headlined: “Illinois Has Rivals Fuming About Its Recruiting Coup.”

Fired Michigan State coach John L. Smith questioned how a school whose team went 4-19 during the last two seasons could attract such a top-notch class, telling the newspaper: “If they had a winning program and all of that, it would be a different deal. If they had the greatest facilities in the world, then maybe they could sell them. But what are they selling?

“Where there’s smoke, there’s probably fire,” added Smith, whose Spartans were the Illini’s only Big Ten victim this season.

Northwestern even entered the fray, with Wildcats receivers coach Kevin Johns telling the paper: “We’re recruiting two different types of character, two different types of kids. They can get in almost any kid that they want. We have to go through academic admissions.”

Illinois coach Ron Zook downplayed the controversy, saying during an interview on ESPNU: “Today is a day for our players. I know this: If that’s all (the Times) can find after all the time they spent, that just makes you feel that much better about the program.”

In December Zook told The Tribune: “There are no skeletons in our closet.”

During a Wednesday conference call Zook said accusations of “impropriety … the notion that not all was up to snuff (are off base).

“For people to say those things. … One, we’re not going to have people like that in our program. Two, if you get to know our people, you’ll realize they are not that way,” Zook said. “For the most part we know where (the accusations) are coming from. It’s a shame for people to throw things out there and try to take away from a great university and program.”

Illinois officials wouldn’t acknowledge it, but there’s little doubt they suspect Notre Dame is behind the accusations.

Nothing, though, can top the tale of Chris Little, a 6-foot-5, 342-pound lineman from Georgia.

Little committed to Florida State on live TV during the Jan. 6 Army All-America Bowl. Then he switched to Notre Dame, explaining that he was confused about his mother’s preference. On Wednesday he declared he would attend Georgia.

“All’s fair in love and recruiting,” CSTV analyst Tom Lemming said, “but I’ve never seen anything like this. Some kids are more of a pain than they’re worth. The self-entitlement of some players now is completely out of control.

“Committing early now just means that one school is the leader. It’s a bull’s-eye and tells the other coaches which school they should bad-mouth.”

For his part, Weis said the word “commitment” needed to be redefined in recruiting.

“If you’re married,” he said, “you shouldn’t be looking at other women.”