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Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Notre Dame An Opportunity Giovanni Ghilotti Couldn't Pass On

January 27, 2020
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Notre Dame added another piece to the 2020 class as Marin Catholic (Calif.) athlete Giovanni Ghilotti‍ committed to the Irish over the weekend. 

The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder accepted a preferred walk-on position, but Ghilotti has known for months that Notre Dame was his future home.

"It really happened when I was out visiting over the summer," Ghilotti stated. 'It was for a camp and I got to meet a bunch of different coaches and players interested in the school.

"It was an amazing experience being in the midst of all of that. Talking to even the people who work with Notre Dame and not necessarily the coaches, but like I met a couple people in the equipment room. How they present themselves and talk to other people was amazing. It's a culture you don't see anywhere else."

Ghilotti experiences a similar culture at Marin Catholic every day and the similarities were a major plus for him.

"It's a similar culture to my high school, but it's a lot stronger because it's a university," explained Ghilotti. "I saw the similarities of the tightly knit community centered around God, faith and spirituality.

"It's definitely a reason why I was so fond of Notre Dame so quickly." 

Athleticism and length are traits Notre Dame has focused on in recent years on the edge and Ghilotti will fit in perfectly. 

Ghilotti expects to start his career at the Vyper position, which has had past games of Drop and Shark in recent years.

"I think they changed the name of the position, but last I heard it was called Shark," said Ghilotti. "It's an outside linebacker and a good amount of time they blitz the position. It's a little defensive end action, which I'm excited for and I get to hit the quarterback a little bit. 

"They're excited because they feel that position for me is perfect." 

While Ghilotti admits he hasn't seen the game from a linebacker perspective, the California native is eager to learn and feels the position fits into his strengths. 

"One of my strengths is being able to shift the weight of whoever I'm going against," Ghilotti explained. "One of my favorite moves is a push and pull. You get them on their heels and they try to overcorrect. You pull them towards you and they fall on their face. I played a little bit of tight end this year too. My awareness of how to fit up on someone or how to get by someone is really good. 

"Something I can work on is having a better perspective of the whole play. That's partly because being on the defensive line you're matching heads and it's hard to get the whole perspective. Practicing more at the linebacker spot and preparing for wherever they want to put me and seeing the whole play develop is something I can improve on." 

As for the decision to attend Notre Dame, Ghilotti turned down scholarship offers for a chance to compete on and off the field in South Bend.

"I spoke with a lot of talented colleges and a lot of great coaches," said Ghilotti. "I was super grateful for all the opportunities I had, but I knew I would thrive at Notre Dame. I had to go with what was going to be best for me where I could grow the most and where I saw the most opportunity. 

"Although I had a lot of great opportunities to play college football, I had to go with Notre Dame. It was a gut instinct I couldn't even question." 

 
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