2022 Notre Dame Commit Jack Lausch Preparing for Signing Day
The last week and a half has been crazy for Notre Dame 2022 commits coast to coast.
For Jack Lausch, it's been a whirlwind as the Notre Dame walk-on quarterback and baseball commit saw Brian Kelly leave and Marcus Freeman step into a new role, but then Northwestern football offered him a scholarship on December 5th.
"It was a crazy week for everyone over there," the Brother Rice (Ill.) star told ISD. "It looks really exciting and everyone in the program loves what's going with Coach Freeman. He's a great coach and I think he's a special guy. I feel a lot of people will love what he's going to do there.
"It's an exciting time to play football at Notre Dame and the sky is the limit for the program. I think Notre Dame is going to thrive with Coach Freeman."
The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder capped off his prep career on the gridiron this fall by throwing for 2,447 yards and 20 touchdowns, while adding 1,084 yards and 21 more scores on the ground.
It was a no-brainer for the Notre Dame football staff to welcome him to the team following his commitment to Link Jarrett.
And despite Kelly's departure, Tommy Rees and Freeman made sure to communicate Lausch is wanted in the program.
"I met Coach Rees and I talked to Coach Freeman on the phone," explained Lausch. "I've talked to a few of the people in the recruiting office too. I've been in contact with those guys the whole way through.
"It was awesome to talk to Coach Freeman, especially one of his first days on the job because he's really busy. You see classes change up all the time with coaching changes, but the way the class has stayed intact and the players have stayed, I think it speaks volumes about why the program will be great moving forward."
The Oak Lawn native simply wants a chance to compete and Rees has made it clear he'll get the opportunity.
"They've said I'll get a shot at quarterback and obviously, being a walk-on, it's hard," stated Lausch. "I haven't talked to them about other positions down the road, but it would be interesting to talk about. I'll have a shot and that's all I can ask for."
Northwestern had been recruiting Lausch, but the offer did catch the Brother Rice star off guard.
"I was shocked," said Lausch. "They had been recruiting me in the fall and to get the call was pretty cool. It was shocking, but really exciting at the same time."
When it comes to baseball, Lausch is one of the top prospects (CF/P) in the Midwest and has been a top priority for Jarrett and Rich Wallace for quite some time.
"Those guys are awesome," Lausch said. "It's been a blast getting to know those guys better. Notre Dame baseball is a big deal. It's been cool following the success they've had over the last year. They're great baseball guys and Notre Dame baseball is something really cool to be part of."
Notre Dame's run to the Super Regionals stuck out to most, but for Lausch, it was proof Jarrett and his staff backed up their recruiting pitches.
"It was great to see them go out and compete - and be better than a lot of those teams in high profile conferences," Lausch stated. "The ACC is one of the top two conferences in baseball, but Notre Dame hasn't always been a baseball school, so to see them compete and dominate really good competition was awesome to see.
"I've heard a lot of great things about Coach Jarrett and to see what he did last year was pretty unbelievable."
As far as a final decision, Lausch is staying patient with his recruiting process and plans to put pen to paper in five days.
"There's a lot going on and I'll have to see what's the best opportunity for me is and I have to figure that out," stated Lausch. "No matter what it is, the plan for me is to sign on Wednesday."
Lausch knows both programs can offer him an elite education and his final decision will come down to where he feels the best opportunity is at the end of the day.
"A big part of this is where am I going to be happy as a student," said Lausch. "Both schools are elite academically, so I can't go wrong with either option.
"Playing two sports with two different avenues to go down requires even more thinking. It will be about how I feel at both places and where I feel I can ultimately succeed at what I want to do."