2023 QB Austin Novosad Goes In-Depth on Notre Dame Visit

2023 Baylor quarterback commit Austin Novosad‍ debated visiting Notre Dame after receiving an offer from the Fighting Irish earlier this month and the four-star prospect was glad he made the trip to South Bend on Tuesday. 

“It went good,” Novosad told ISD. “We jammed as much as we could in a short time period. The whole coaching staff was great. I was able to see the campus and I had a couple of meetings. It was a good experience hanging out with some of the 2023 recruits like Jaden (Greathouse) and the other guys.” 

Greathouse making the trip to Notre Dame from Texas wasn’t lost on Novosad as the two live about 30 minutes from each other in the Austin area. 

“It was good to see a guy that’s in your class you could be throwing to,” explained Novosad. “We actually played some games today and he was on my team. It was good to hang with a guy from the same area. It was good to bond with him.” 

Novosad also felt he meshed well with Notre Dame’s commits and other recruits on campus. 

“They were all cool guys,” said Novosad. “I got to hang out with them a lot during the game period. It was super competitive and we all had a great time.” 

Notre Dame stayed on point with its BBQ theme as the recruits played a number of backyard games, including cornhole and home run derby. It was also a chance for the recruits show their competitive side as they were teamed up with the coaches, which Novosad really enjoyed. 

“Coach (Tommy) Rees and I were on the same team,” stated Novosad. “We were battling CJ’s (Carr) team all day. They beat us in two games we shouldn’t have lost - and it was kind of rigged. We came back and beat them in cornhole and made the championship. He was all mad, but it was definitely fun to be in a competitive atmosphere.” 

The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder also enjoyed hanging out and getting to know Carr throughout the day. 

“It was good to hang out with CJ. If I committed there, I would be with him for a while, so having good vibes between every quarterback is always good.” 

Novosad made sure to get to business during his visit as he spent time with Rees going over the Notre Dame offense and seeing where he would fit into where it was headed. 

“We got a good hour or so meeting in,” explained Novosad. “We were talking about the offensive philosophy and where they were headed. We talked about the QB room and broke down some film. I really enjoyed that because that was really the first time we were able to do get into that. 

“Getting time to sit down with Coach Rees was great.” 

The Texas native fully admitted at the time of his offer that Notre Dame was late to join his recruitment, but the personalities of Marcus Freeman and Rees stood out in his first few conversations. Tuesday provided the chance to meet face-to-face and Novosad thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with the staff. 

“They were both great today,” stated Novosad. “I had great meetings with both of them and hanging out with them during the day was great. Both of them showed just how genuine they as well. I just really enjoyed.” 

Novosad had never been to Notre Dame before, so another big significant piece to the puzzle was seeing how he liked the smaller campus and what the university had to offer away from the football field.

“What makes them so different is how they emphasize how great the football is and you still get an Ivy League education,” Novosad explained. “That’s what separates them - just the balance they have. Notre Dame isn’t someone who doesn’t care about academics and only football, but it’s not like an Ivy League school where the football isn’t great and the academics are good. 

“The balance is there and that’s what I really like about Notre Dame.” 

Notre Dame definitely rolled out the red carpet and it likely made the Dripping Springs star’s decision even tougher as he hopes to make a final call before the season starts. 

“It really helped to come up here,” Novosad said. “When I do finally make the decision, I think it was good to visit. Without coming up here, I think would have missed out on a lot of stuff Notre Dame has to offer.

“It was definitely worth the trip and I got to see the full picture today.” 

Ranking
ISD: 90 (four-star)
247: 94 (four-star)
Rivals: 5.9 (four-star)
ESPN: 79 (three-star)
Composite: 93.53 (four-star)

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