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Notre Dame Football

2019 IN ATH Gets First Look At ND

December 3, 2016
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To say Notre Dame set the bar high for Dallas Culpepper would be a bit of an understatement.

The 2019 Indiana athlete took his first unofficial visit to Notre Dame for the Irish’s season finale against Virginia Tech last month and was definitely impressed.

“It was great,” the 6-foot-2, 255-pounder from Beech Grove High School said. “When I got there, we checked in and registered. They took me around the facility, the weight room, auditorium. They showed me all of the meeting rooms.

“From there, we went upstairs to tour around where the coaches stay. I got to put on a jersey, take a picture and stuff like that. From there, we ate lunch and then we got to go see the locker room where the players are. We went back to the auditorium to watch a video and they were talking to us about what was going to go on at the game.”

He was impressed by the Gug and the other facilities and had never really seen anything like them.

“They were great because I’d never seen any college facilities before,” he said. “It was like heaven up there.”

The game was certainly another highlight of the trip.

“We were on the sideline,” Culpepper said. “We got to stand on the sideline and watch all of the players warm up. Then we went to our seats and watched the game.

“It was crazy. It was loud throughout the game. I liked the student section a lot.”

Despite the loss to the Hokies, Culpepper was impressed with the Irish’s performance.

“I thought they played good,” he said. “They played better than what they’ve been playing like. I still think they could have played a little bit better D.”

Culpepper could play a number of positions on the next level, including tight end, defensive end and linebacker. He was honored to be invited to the game in South Bend.

“The linebacker coach sent my coach a letter and my coach gave it to me,” he explained. “It just said, ‘We’d like for Dallas Culpepper and two guests to come up for a game day visit.’ They gave me three games to pick from and I picked that game.

“It was great. I felt amazed because no college tried to have me come to a game or anything like that. It felt good.”

He had a chance to speak with Notre Dame linebackers coach Mike Elston briefly during the visit and Elston told him he’d be down to check on him again soon.

 
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