Pouncey Primed For ND Return
This weekend’s game between Notre Dame and Stanford may not have the luster fans of the two teams were hoping for at the beginning of the season, but Jordan Pouncey is still fired up.
“I’m extremely excited,” said the 2017 Notre Dame wide receiver commit, who is taking his official visit this weekend.
“I’m excited for my parents and the coaching staff to meet. I’m excited to get up and see my future teammates and some of the friends I made while I was up there for Irish Invasion.”
The Florida native will be joined by a couple fellow 2017 Irish commits, wide receiver Michael Young and offensive lineman Robert Hainsey.
“I haven’t seen Robert or Michael since the Irish Invasion, so it’ll be good to be up there and get back with them,” he said.
He’s also looking forward to Saturday night’s game against the Cardinal.
“I’ve never seen Notre Dame live, so that’ll be a first-time experience,” Pouncey said. “My first game ever in Notre Dame Stadium, that’s going to be awesome for me.
“I know the game between Notre Dame and Stanford is always a really good one. Both teams haven’t been doing so hot this season, so I’d like to see who’s going to have more pride and go out there and actually compete.”
But getting his parents together with his future coaches figures to be the highlight of the trip.
“My mom and dad have spoken on the phone with Coach (Autry) Denson a couple of times, but they’ve never met him in person and they’ve never met Coach (Brian) Kelly or Coach (Mike) Denbrock,” he said. “It’s going to help me if my parents reassure me that this is the place for me. They know what’s best for me, so if they like it, I know I’m going to like it.
“I know my mom, she’s going to like the education part of it the most. As far as my dad goes, he just wants me to be happy and doesn’t want anyone to take advantage of me in any way. He just wants me to be in the best position I can be. They’re really excited to get up there and see the school I’m going to be going to.”
Pouncey and the other members of the 2017 Irish recruiting class are excited for the chance to help the program bounce back, but he admits it’s been a difficult season so far.
“Really all we can do is cheer them on from home,” the Winter Park High School standout said. “Sometimes it can be a little bit hard.
“People, at least in my community, give me a hard time like, ‘Man, what’s wrong with the Irish?’ There are a lot of Gator fans in Winter Park, my community, and there always telling me, ‘Oh, you’d look good in Orange and Blue.’ But nope, it’s all Blue and Gold here.”
Pouncey believes the connections his future teammates have already formed will help them stick together now and in the future.
“All I know is the commits in my class have created a really, really strong bond and I think that’s what’s going to help us when we get up there. Hopefully with that bond, we’ll be able to make an impact early as freshmen and help change things at Notre Dame.”