2023 DL Boubacar Traore Breaks Down Notre Dame Decision

By Christian McCollum

May 5, 2022

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It was a long and windy road, but Boubacar Traore‍ brought his recruitment to a close last week and the 2023 Massachusetts defensive lineman is fired up about the commitment he made to Notre Dame.

“It was a great environment, great place,” said the West Roxbury native, who committed last Wednesday, during an unofficial visit to South Bend.

“They showed me the people over there really care about their athletes and really care about the things that you do after football. You're getting an Ivy League education and getting a chance to play for a national championship.”

First-year Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington headed up the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder’s recruitment with help from head coach Marcus Freeman.

“They're everything I thought they would be,” Traore said of the Irish coaches. “Energetic, they really care for their players. They're really great people.

“When I told them, they were pretty excited. I told Coach Freeman and he was pretty pumped.”

Traore was also impressed with the campus in South Bend.

“The campus was great,” the Catholic Memorial standout said.

Traore made a commitment to Boston College early in the process, but backed off that pledge in March, just prior to locking in his trip to Notre Dame.

Traore also had offers from schools like Michigan and Pittsburgh. He’s already been in touch with the other members of Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class.

“We really have a great chance to do something great at Notre Dame,” he said.

He also knows fellow Massachusetts native and Irish commit Preston Zinter‍.

“It's great,” Traore said of joining another Bay Stater in the Irish class.

“We're starting to keep the pipeline going from Massachusetts to ND.”

Traore will be back in South Bend for next month’s major recruiting event on June 10th.

“That'll be fun,” he said.

But as much as anything, Traore is pumped about having the recruiting process behind him.

“I'm pretty excited that it's over. I'm able to finally sit down and just relax.”