2021 RB Willie Shaw Previews Notre Dame Trip

Willie Shaw‍ didn’t need to hear a ton from Notre Dame before the 2021 Illinois running back locked in a visit down to South Bend for this weekend’s game against Virginia.

“Throughout the week, I’d been getting mail from Notre Dame and they were inviting me to games,” says Shaw. “It was just to the point of picking which date was fine for me.

“I don’t really know much about Notre Dame…I’ve never been up there, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about the program, the athletic and academic sides.”

There isn’t much the Brother Rice High School standout specifically wants to see during the trip.

“I’m just going to take it as I get it,” he says. “One thing I am interested in is maybe getting a campus tour.

“This will be my first gameday visit. I do have an Illinois visit coming up and I believe an Iowa State visit coming up soon.”

Shaw has early offers from Illinois, Iowa and Virginia.

“It feels great to know schools have a lot of interest and trust me off my sophomore film,” he says. “Before that, I hadn’t played a snap of varsity, so that’s all they’d seen of me. I’m grateful they have that trust in me.”

The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder says he clocked a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash at Virginia’s camp and that kind of speed has certainly caught the attention of college scouts.

“They like how I move running through the line of scrimmage, most coaches also compliment my speed,” he says.

Shaw wants to study Business in college and points to education as a key factor in his final decision.

“Really just the school that I can trust that will be the best benefit for me academically and athletically. Most importantly, if something were to happen and football wasn’t an option anymore, I’d be able to fall back on something from school.”