2024 Five-Star Peyton Woodyard Loved Third Look at Notre Dame

2024 St. John Bosco (Calif.) safety Peyton Woodyard‍ and his family made their way out to the Midwest last week to see Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. 

The Blue-Gold Game was the final stop on the trip and it couldn’t have gone better for the composite five-star prospect. 

“It was my third time there,” Woodyard told ISD. “My parents and I have seen everything the school has to offer, but what really stood out to me this time was the connection piece you can get at Notre Dame. Being able to connect with some of the people before and after the game was cool. Sitting down and talking with Coach (Al) Golden was another big part of this visit.” 

Woodyard quickly noticed how many former Notre Dame players made the trip to South Bend and saw a few he already had relationships with over the weekend. 

“I feel like it shows how tight-knit the program is,” explained Woodyard. “It’s truly a family and brotherhood at Notre Dame. It was cool to see like 300 players come back and I already knew some of them. I was able to connect with some of the legends like Tom Galloway. It was just really cool.” 

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has built strong relationships with Marcus Freeman, Chris O’Leary and Chad Bowden over his first two visits and this one was centered around getting to know Golden on a deeper level. 

“Talking to him in person, he’s just a great guy,” stated Woodyard. “He’s going to get you ready for the next level. He’ll put you in a good position to make plays and it’s a really fun defense for a safety to play in. I got nothing but great vibes from him.” 

Woodyard also enjoyed getting to see some of Notre Dame’s commits again and meet others for the first time. 

“If I were to go to school there, I already have a connection with some of the guys in the class ahead of me like Drayk Bowen, Keon Keeley, Adon Shuler and Peyton Bowen,” said Woodyard. “It was just a great time.” 

Ohio State also impressed Woodyard during his Midwest swing as he spent plenty of time with head coach Ryan Day as he got an in-depth look at the Buckeyes. 

“I liked the Ohio State visit,” stated Woodyard. “Coach Day was busy and flew back in to connect and see me. Being able to sit down for a long time and listen to him explain my importance to him was cool. He walked me through everything his program has to offer. It was a good experience I had there with him and Coach (Perry) Eliano when I was up there.” 

Woodyard knows Notre Dame and Ohio State as well as any 2024 recruit and he admits both programs have recruited him as well as anyone in the country. 

“I think both staffs have been coming at me really hard,” Woodyard stated. “It’s hard to pick and choose the differences between the two. I love both schools a lot.” 

As for a decision, Woodyard plans to take a trip to SEC country in the summer and then work through a top group, so a decision isn’t in the near future at this stage of his recruitment. 

“I’m not going to make a decision any time soon,” said Woodyard. “In the summer, I’m going to go to the South and I’ll narrow my list down after that. I’ll go through my season and let everything play out and watch some of these teams.” 

Rankings:
ISD: N/R
247: 91 (four-star)
Rivals: 6.0 (four-star)
ESPN: N/R
Composite: 99.24 (five-star)

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