Notre Dame Leaves Lasting Impression on Top 2023 ATH Luke Montgomery

2023 Findlay (Ohio) athlete Luke Montgomery‍ has spent almost all of June on the road visiting schools across the country. 

Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee all hosted Montgomery over the last three weeks and Notre Dame was the final stop on Sunday. 

"It's definitely up there," Montgomery told ISD. "It's prestigious and one of the nicest campuses I've been on. It's not huge either and that's nice as well. Everything is right there."

It was a busy day for Montgomery and his father, but also the Notre Dame staff as they were wrapping up official visits. 

"The whole day was awesome all the way around," Montgomery stated. "We started off with an hour and a half presentation on academics, the campus and team culture with Coach Nick Lezynski. We went on a golf cart tour of campus and did a photoshoot. 

"We then met with Coach (Mike) Elston, Coach (Marcus) Freeman and Coach (Brian) Kelly. We talked with them for a couple hours over lunch." 

Freeman had been in contact with Montgomery since he took the Notre Dame job, but Sunday was a chance for him to a lasting impression on Montgomery. 

And he did as the Ohio natives were able to connect in many ways.

"His message was to take your time and I know how you feel being an Ohio kid and it's hard to make a decision in general," said Montgomery. 

"They have a spot they see me at that's more of a 3-tech and I can move out to a 5-tech on defense. I'm really excited about that. I'll see how I do over the next year and see how that goes." 

Elston has been a long-time fixture in Montgomery's high school career as the two first met when the four-star prospect visited South Bend in 2019. 

They also found a connection in the past as they're from the same area in Ohio, but this visit was about showing his vision for Montgomery. Notre Dame projects Montgomery as a defensive lineman while almost every other program is recruiting him as an offensive lineman. 

"He really sees me playing defense playing a 3 or 5-tech," explained Montgomery. "He gave me some basic moves to start practicing that he thinks I'll be good at. 

"He said they run an 11-man rotation and after four plays they rotate. He felt I could come in and play and I think that's huge in any kids recruitment - to be able to come in and make an impact out of the gate." 

Notre Dame and Ohio State have been considered the favorites to land Montgomery, but after traveling the country, the Findlay star also knows he wouldn't have a problem going outside the Midwest. 

"I think it does give them a small advantage because it's closer and I can get there easier," Montgomery explained. "I wouldn't count on me not going far away. I don't really mind being far away from home as I'm taken care of and I fit in there. I'm faith-based, so if they're good in that and academics, then I don't see I couldn't go far away." 

Oklahoma impressed Montgomery last week as the Sooners had Kyler Murray, Lane Johnson, Trent Williams, Sam Bradford, Ceedee Lamb, Sterling Shepard and Adrian Peterson return to Norman for a BBQ event for Oklahoma's recruits. 

"Probably Oklahoma just because of all the pros coming back," said Montgomery when asked about the coolest thing he saw over the last month. "It shows the culture there and them being able to come back on their own paycheck and help the future of Oklahoma. I thought that was really cool."