Kmet Remains Patient
Cole Kmet comes from a football family with a father and uncle who played at Purdue before stints in the NFL. The 2017 Illinois tight end will be playing big-time college football himself in a couple years with a host of major scholarship offers to choose from.
Still, Kmet’s trip to South Bend for Notre Dame’s season-opening victory over Texas on Sept. 5th was his first-ever college game and it certainly lived up to the hype.
“Everything was great,” the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder from Saint Viator High School said. “I had an unbelievable time. It was awesome just getting the gameday feel of everything. It was a pretty crazy atmosphere.”
The student section of Notre Dame Stadium stood out to Kmet.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “They stayed until the end even though it was a blowout and I thought that was awesome. I thought the whole fanbase was amazing. I just really enjoyed my time. Everything was a highlight for me.”
He was also impressed with the Irish’s performance in the 38-3 drubbing of the Longhorns and enjoyed the opportunity to hang out in the locker room after the win.
“It was awesome getting to see how they celebrate, how excited and how fired up they were in the win against Texas in the home opener,” Kmet said.
Prior to the game, he spoke with Notre Dame tight ends coach Scott Booker, offensive coordinator Mike Sanford and recruiting coordinator Mike Elston. Afterward, he talked with Sanford and Booker again as well as head coach Brian Kelly.
“They were just asking me how everything went,” Kmet said. “They were obviously pretty pumped up after the win. They were telling me all of this stuff they want to do with the tight ends by the time I get there. They want to be able to run double-tights, be able to use me in different ways, flexed out as a receiver and in-line. They really want to move me around and do everything they can.
“Coach Kelly was fired up after the game as well. He was just telling me how well he thinks I could fit at Notre Dame and that they really want me and think I’d be a good fit for this team.”
This was Kmet’s third trip to South Bend in the last few months and Notre Dame is one of the schools at the top of his list, but the junior said he never thought about pulling the trigger while on campus.
“I still want to weigh all of my options,” he said. “I’m really looking heavily at Notre Dame and Ohio State. I’m planning to go to Ohio State Oct. 17th for their Penn State game.
“Those two have really jumped out at me recently. After the Ohio State game, something could happen where I could potentially make a decision, but right now, I’m just really looking at everything.”