MacCollister Commits To ND

Irish Invasion weekend is officially here and it’s off to a bang.

Notre Dame has added a defensive end to the 2017 recruiting class and it’s one freshman Parker Boudreaux will be quite happy about. Bishop Moore (Fla.) three-star Jonathon MacCollister has pulled the trigger and committed to Notre Dame shortly after arriving for his weekend visit on Friday.

“It’s just everything that I wanted,” MacCollister told Irish Sports Daily. “Everything fits into one place and it has everything I am looking for. It has the aspect of academics and they also put guys in the league. It’s just has everything I could ask for in a college.” 

Boudreaux and MacCollister were part of the Hornets team that won a State Title in Florida in 2015, so getting the chance to suit up with his good friend is something that appealed to the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder.

“It definitely is cool knowing I will be playing with Parker again,” explained MacCollister.”He is one of my best friends. We’ve got close over the last year and I am sure we will get closer at Notre Dame. I think we will stay friends for a long time.” 

Besides playing with Boudreaux, MacCollister appreciated the effort put forth by his future defensive line coach Keith Gilmore. MacCollister had offers to play tight end and defensive end in college, but Gilmore made it clear Notre Dame wanted him to get attack the quarterback.

MacCollister had over 30 offers from Auburn, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Oregon and UCLA, but it was the Notre Dame degree that won him over in the end. 

“It means everything to me,” MacCollister said of the degree. “At the end of the day, I am using football. I am not letting football use me. I am using football to get a free education. A degree from Notre Dame is using football to benefit myself. I can’t even lie about that.”

MacCollister joins linebacker David Adams, defensive tackle Kurt Hinish, linebacker Drew White and linebacker Pete Werner on the defensive side of the ball in Notre Dame’s recruiting class.