2023 LB Tre Edwards: 'Notre Dame has been a dream school'

Notre Dame had only offered one linebacker in the 2023 recruiting class until Wednesday as defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman made it two. 

Freeman actually surprised Mater Dei Catholic (Calif.) linebacker Tre Edwards‍ with the offer and it meant a great deal to the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder. 

"It caught me off guard at first,” Edwards told ISD. “Notre Dame has been a dream school of mine since I was a little kid. Now, I'm really excited." 

Notre Dame carries weight in most households, but it might carry a little more with the Edwards family as the four-star prospect grew up watching the Irish. 

"My dad is a big Notre Dame, so that's what we watched when I was younger,” explained Edwards. “They come on the TV a lot. They've made the College Football Playoff a lot, so they're one of the teams on TV the most. I've basically watched them my whole life." 

Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Cal, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, UNLV and USC have also offered the Chula Vista native, but don’t think he’s content because he has offers.

"It's a blessing,” stated Edwards. “It's just amazing and I know I have to keep working. I also have to keep up the work in the classroom." 

USC was his first offer and the Trojans program also has his eye. 

"I like the facilities and the coaching staff,” Edwards said. “The environment at the school is great too." 

Academics are important to Edwards as he carries a 3.5 GPA, but he’s also managed to figure out how to improve his game this offseason as California has yet to play high school football. 

"I've been doing two works a day, five days a week,” Edwards explained. “That's really it because there's no football. It's the only thing we can do right now." 

When it comes to a decision, Edwards isn’t in a rush and is enjoying the process, but he does have an idea of what he wants in a future program. 

"Location doesn't matter to me,” Edwards stated. “I'm looking at the academics, environment and the coaching staff." 

Distance to home didn’t matter much to Notre Dame early enrollee Tyler Buchner, who hails from the same area and faced off against Edwards in 2019. 

"He's a dog,” said Edwards. “He's the best quarterback I've played against because he can do it all. He runs like a running back and then he can pass like Tom Brady."