Notre Dame Ready To Hit Philly, St. Joe's Prep

Look for Notre Dame to make a more concerted effort at recruiting the state of Pennsylvania in the years to come, the Philadelphia area, specifically.

And if you want to start recruiting Philly hard, especially if you’re Notre Dame, St. Joseph’s Prep is probably the best place to begin.

The Irish offered elite 2023 St. Joe’s linebacker Josiah Trotter‍ (pictured above) last March, and while they got him on campus, they struggled to really establish a ton of traction and weren’t included when he released a Top 4 a couple months later.

But, the son of former NFL linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and the brother of current Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., seems to be taking a step back.

Last month, he announced a Top 8 that did include Notre Dame along with Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Texas A&M and his initial group of four, Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson and South Carolina.

One source involved in Trotter’s recruitment traced the Irish’s regained footing directly to the promotion of Marcus Freeman to head coach. Notre Dame is working to further that relationship and it seems to be working.

“Notre Dame's got a lot of buzz right now,” a separate source told ISD. “Kids love Coach Freeman. He's one of the best recruiters in the country. They play a smashmouth brand of defense. I think it really fits Josiah's skillset.

“I think he's really open to everything right now as far as his top schools. I think Notre Dame's up near the top of that list.”

The other target to keep an eye on is 2025 safety Anthony Sacca‍, who some believe will become a truly elite national prospect.

The son of a former Penn State quarterback, at close to 6-5, his measureables are almost off the charts for a safety.

“He's special, dude,” one source said. “He's just a physical specimen…He is a unicorn without a doubt.”

Obviously, Penn State will provide some stiff competition and Sacca was back in Happy Valley for the Nittany Lions’ Junior Day last month. But we expect him to take a good look at Notre Dame and potentially make his way to South Bend this spring.

Relationships will be important for Sacca, but the Irish have plenty of time to build those and really, they’ve already started.