2023 DL Devan Houstan Recaps "Amazing" Notre Dame Visit

Devan Houstan‍ made the trip down to Notre Dame for the Irish’s Junior Day this past weekend and the 2023 defensive tackle from Canada was not disappointed.

“It was great,” said Houstan, who attends St. James School in Maryland. “It was definitely more than I expected. It was actually amazing.”

The 6-foot-5, 270-pounder pointed to spending time with Irish defensive line coach Al Washington and head coach Marcus Freeman as highlights.

“Especially getting to talk to Coach (Al) Washington because he's new on the staff,” he said. “Just connecting with Coach Freeman, Coach Washington, seeing the facilities and obviously the photo and video shoot.”

Washington made a hugely positive impression.

“He just told me about how excited he was to be a part of the Notre Dame staff and how much this place could do for me, just how excited he was to get to know me more and how he loved my film and all that good stuff,” Houstan said of Washington’s message.

“He's a great dude. To be honest with you, just after spending the weekend with him, I can tell he's very passionate and knowledgeable when it comes to the game. I think he's both a teacher and a student of the game because he's always trying to evolve his teaching and the way he coaches. Just talking to him, when we're talking football and when we're just talking like regular, everyday stuff, his energy and vibe is through the roof. He's a very easy guy to talk to and I really enjoy spending time with him.”

Houstan and his mother had the chance to spend time with Freeman as well.

“We got to talk about everyday stuff and talk about my fit in the program and what the program can do for me,” he said. “He's a great guy.

“I think Notre Dame is in great hands with Coach Freeman. He definitely knows what he's doing, very personable and just a great coach and a great guy overall.”

Seeing the campus in South Bend was another highlight.

“The campus was beautiful,” said Houstan. “I really like the rich history behind it. It looks very contemporary in my opinion. It looks very nice.

“It's not flashy, which I really like, but at the same time, it's still very impressive, like with the Golden Dome and everything. It's actually a very big campus considering there's only 8,000 students who go there. The campus is insane. It's definitely very impressive.”

He also had the chance to spend some time around a couple current commits.

“I had a good time hanging out with Brenan Vernon‍,” he said. “He's a really cool dude. We clicked instantly, had a really good vibe with each other. He's a great guy and a very good player on the field.

“I talked a bit to Drayk Bowen‍. He's a really cool dude. Notre Dame got some good ones with them, definitely great people.”

Houstan especially enjoyed the photo and video shoot, where he got to show off his dance moves.

“Coach Washington and a couple other coaches were joking around saying we have to have a dance battle next time I come down,” he laughed. “I'm definitely looking forward to that.”

And that could happen relatively soon.

“I'm definitely trying to get back down for the spring game,” he said, referring to the Blue-Gold Game April 23rd. “That's definitely a goal for me. I'm probably going to come down for the spring game and just check out that atmosphere and everything when everyone is in the stands.”

He doesn’t have any other visits locked in just yet.

“I want to get to a good chunk of schools after a dead period,” he said. “But as of right now, I'm just sitting down with my parents and really putting my priorities straight and just figuring out which schools I want to go see and check out and stuff like that. I'm taking this time in February just to really sort that out.”

Michigan offered Houstan on Monday. Houstan’s brother, Caleb, is a former five-star basketball and a current standout for the Wolverines, but Houstan says that won’t impact his choice.

“At the end of the day, I'm just going to go where I feel like I fit best and where I feel like I'm a priority. Obviously, it's nice with my brother going there, but that has no effect on my decision at all.”