2024 PA LB Anthony Speca In "Disbelief" After Notre Dame Offer

If Mike Elston heard, he didn’t let on.

But Anthony Speca‍ is pretty sure the Irish defensive line coach heard the impulsive reaction to learning he had just landed a scholarship offer from Notre Dame.

Elston delivered the offer during a conversation with the 2024 Pennsylvania linebacker on Friday morning.

“We were just having like a conversation,” the Pittsburgh native explains. “He's a really cool dude. We were just talking and he just kind of worked his way into letting me know that they were going to offer me. It was the most casual conversations I've ever had with a coach.”

Still, Speca says the best word to describe his reaction is “disbelief.”

“I bet he heard me under my breath,” says Speca. “I was like, 'Oh my God! No way!'

“I was so happy.”

It wasn’t the first offer for the Central Catholic High School freshman, who picked up his first from Pitt earlier in the month, but it was definitely an important one.

“Notre Dame is in the College Football Playoff like every year,” he says. “It's a great school. I'm always watching them on TV. One of my great friends, Donovan (Hinish), his brother plays, so I'm always hearing about it. There's like a pipeline from Central Catholic to Notre Dame. It's a big deal for me, definitely.”

Aside from the offer, the timing is striking to the 6-foot-3, 217-pounder, who is the first prospect in the Class of 2024 to receive an offer from the Irish.

“That's probably the craziest part about it for me,” he says. “For me, I've barely ever heard about Notre Dame offering freshmen. Getting an offer that early is crazy, but especially from Notre Dame of all places like a prestigious academic school and athletic school, so if they think that highly of me, it really means a lot.”

Speca says he’s “definitely” going to make it out to South Bend sometime soon with Hinish. He was at Notre Dame a few years back when his older brother participated in a 7-on-7 tournament on campus, but didn’t really get to see much.

“I honestly just want to see what the campus is like and where everything's located and the fields and stuff,” he says.

In the meantime, he plans on keeping in touch with the Notre Dame staff.

“Keep talking to them, figure out more about the program and just keep learning, doing as much as I can to get to know them and let them get to know me,” he says.

In addition to Pitt, Speca is also in talks with Rutgers, West Virginia, Penn State and Ohio State has reached out recently as well.

It’s early, but Speca has an idea of what he’s hoping to find in a college.

“I'm looking for a program that would push me to my limits and make me work for everything. I don't want to be handed anything at all. I want to have to work for everything I get because that's the type of person I am. I want to win. I want to play with people who treat me as their brother. I want the brotherhood feeling.”