2021 Notre Dame Commit Justin Walters After 2022 LB Sebastian Cheeks

Justin Walters‍ often finds himself shaking his head when he looks at Sebastian Cheeks‍.

“You can probably tell from the picture, he is a large human,” Walters (right) says of Cheeks (left).

Walters is a 2021 safety from Illinois who is currently committed to Notre Dame while Cheeks is a 2022 Illinois linebacker with an offer from the Irish. The two work out together at WIN Performance in Highland Park.

Walters often compares Cheeks to Tyler McLaurin, his teammate at Bolingbrook High School who is headed to Michigan as a linebacker in the Class of 2021.

“I look at Tyler and I look at him like, ‘Wow, this dude is a year younger than us. How is he this big?’” Walters laughs.

“His size is a big thing and he’s fluid. He has that quickness. He has the size with the quickness that would be solid for the Notre Dame, especially with the packages where there are mobile people for longer downs. It seems like he would fit in that position really well.”

Walters and fellow Irish 2021 commit, Illinois offensive lineman Pat Coogan‍, are doing their best to communicate that to Cheeks.

“We’ve been building a pretty good connection over this time because we go to the same place for training,” said Walters. “We talk about Notre Dame a lot. He was excited over that win against Clemson too.

“Knowing me and Pat is pretty good for his recruiting. Obviously, he said he felt really good about his connections with the coaches, but knowing we have good connections with the coaches as well has helped him. That’s why you hear Notre Dame is pretty high on his board.”

Indeed, ever since Cheeks received his offer from the Irish back in July, he’s listed them as one of the schools he’s considering seriously.