Emerging 2023 DE Micheal Garner Talks Notre Dame Visit

It seems obvious Micheal Garner‍ is on the verge of seeing his recruitment go to the next level.

After scooping up several offers from MAC schools and others during the spring, the 2023 Illinois defensive end has received significant interest from multiple Power-5 programs since the start of his senior season at Bloom High School.

Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State and Notre Dame have reached out to the 6-foot-7, 235-pounder within the last month.

Irish defensive line coach Al Washington visited Bloom High School recently and then hung around to watch Garner’s game that night. The two have stayed in touch since.

“He said he was open to taking one more, he needed another edge player,” Garner explained. “He liked how I played. He liked the intensity I played with, how hard I played, and he wanted to bring me down on a visit.”

So, Garner made the trip down to South Bend this past weekend for the Irish’s game against Stanford.

“I really, really enjoyed myself,” he said afterward. “It was probably the best visit I've ever been on. I really didn't get to see much of the pre-game stuff because I got there right after my game, but I still enjoyed myself a lot.”

The atmosphere stood out most to Garner.

“The energy in that stadium was amazing,” he said. “I got to see Coach Washington in action. That was something very exciting to me as well. He has a lot of energy that I fed off of just being on the sidelines watching him.”

Garner also had the opportunity to meet an Irish legend and NFL Hall of Famer who came from his high school.

“I was actually with Bryant Young,” he said. “He went to Bloom himself. I got to speak with him and learn more from him during the visit.

“He was helping me a lot. He was telling me a lot about mindset and how much that plays into your game and how you have to visualize your success before you go out and get it. I really learned a lot from him.

“He said Notre Dame was a great place to play. He didn't get into it very deep though.”

Garner didn’t get to meet Irish head coach Marcus Freeman during the trip, but should be connecting with him virtually soon.

“I'm going to be getting on a Zoom call with him this week,” he said.

Garner isn’t completely sure where he stands in terms of a potential offer from the Irish, but that could get a better idea soon.

“They want me to get on the call with him,” he said. “They're very open about it. They said that they're open to taking one more edge player and right now.”

Garner didn’t want to give away too much about what an offer would mean other than to say he would consider it seriously.

“I'm going to say that I'm going to keep my recruitment open, but I really like Notre Dame a lot,” he said.

“I really, really like Notre Dame a lot. That offer would be huge for me.”

Garner doesn’t have any other visits locked in yet, but is already thinking about returning to South Bend for an official visit this fall.

Iowa, Iowa State and Toledo have his attention as well.

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