2023 ATH Preston Zinter Loves Notre Dame Game Day

It was clear Preston Zinter‍ was interested in Notre Dame when he made an unofficial visit to South Bend back in June, shortly after receiving a scholarship offer from the Irish.

It was clear that interest was serious when the 2023 Massachusetts athlete returned to South Bend a month later.

Coming out of a third visit to Notre Dame for the Irish’s game against USC this weekend, it’s obvious Zinter’s interest is seriously serious.

“It was great,” the Central Catholic High School star told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “I loved the game day experience. It was a lot of fun.

“I got to see all the facilities, got to meet with the strength coach, got to go tour all the stadium, got to see the locker room, got to see all the coaches. It was great.”

Zinter has been serious about his training since he was in middle school, so diving into the strength and conditioning program at Notre Dame was a welcomed experienced.

“It was great,” he said. “They just talked about how they try to develop their guys and what kind of technology they have and what they would do with my body and stuff like that.”

He could play a number of positions, but the Irish see him as a linebacker. He spoke with Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and assistant linebackers coach Nick Lezynski while in town this weekend.

“We just talked a lot about like just normal life stuff and also talked about the game and how the guys were ready to go,” said Zinter.

He has strong feelings about Freeman and is excited about the on-field possibilities in the Irish defensive scheme.

“I love him,” Zinter said. “He's a great guy. He's a great personality, high energy, a lot of passion for the game. It really shows how he cares for his team.

“Coach Freeman said he could see me at any three of their linebacker positions, so I can really see myself developing into any three of them.”

The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder enjoyed watching the Irish’s 31-16 win over the Trojans.

“It was awesome,” he said. “The crowd was really into it. The guys were really into it on the sideline. The energy was just crazy.

“I definitely can imagine myself playing down there. It was crazy. I had goosebumps running up my arms and my back. It was awesome.”

After three unofficial visits, Zinter says the next step for him and Notre Dame is probably an official.

“I would say mostly definite that I'll make one of my official visits here,” he said.

But next up for him are unofficials for games at Penn State and Michigan, where his older brother, Zak, plays offensive line.