2022 QB Gunnar Smith Excited For Notre Dame Return

Gunnar Smith‍ had already set plans to be at Kentucky when the Notre Dame staff invited him to work out at Irish Invasion back in June.

The 2022 Florida quarterback was able to move things around in order to make it to South Bend, but the whole experience was rather rushed.

Smith has plenty of time to plan out his next trip as the Irish staff has already invited him back.

“The ND staff reached out to my coach and invited me to come back this fall and attend some games and get the game day atmosphere,” Smith told Irish Sports Daily. “I will be coming to the Oct. 12th USC night game and am very excited to meet the coaches, players, tour facility and obviously take in the game vibe.”

The Lake Mary High School standout has an early offer from Kentucky and has also received interest from schools like Florida and West Virginia.

“Notre Dame is very high on my list of potential schools,” he said. “I really enjoyed visiting the campus this summer and the tradition of ND is unmatched.

“I want to try and build a relationship with the offensive staff so they can feel comfortable to make me their 2022 QB target.”

Smith doesn’t have any other college visits locked in at this point.

“Maybe some closer to home like UCF and Florida will happen,” he continued. “Florida has shown interest again and I stay in touch with them.”

Smith said he worked hard this offseason.

“I am bigger, stronger, more experienced than my freshman year,” he said. “I expect to progress each year and do whatever it takes to win games for Lake Mary.

Lake Mary, which won its opener this past weekend, hopes to win its district and make the playoffs this season, something the Rams failed to do a year ago.

“We play in one of the toughest districts in Florida, 8A. We just need to stay healthy and take one game at a time - we have great players and coaches and school support to accomplish our goals.”