2024 CB Karson Hobbs Sees "Brotherhood" During Notre Dame Win Over Clemson

The atmosphere was great and so was the win – “Definitely the craziest game I've been to of any college football game so far,” – especially for somebody like Karson Hobbs‍ who grew up a Notre Dame fan.

But something else seemed to stuck out most to the 2024 Ohio cornerback who was in the building for the Irish’s 35-14 win over #4 Clemson on Saturday night.

“It's a brotherhood over there, so I love it,” Hobbs told Irish Sports Daily after the game. “Just seeing how close everybody was after winning. I feel like everybody’s got a place for everybody. People play for the people.

“When I went into that locker room and all the players were giving speeches, nobody was really talking about themselves. They were talking about teammates and how hard they worked for each other at practice and stuff, and the guy next to them.”

Hobbs committed to South Carolina back in July, but has been seriously considering his childhood favorite since being offered by the Irish during a September visit.

He had the chance to speak with multiple coaches on Saturday, including Chad Bowden, Mike Mickens, Al Golden and Marcus Freeman.

Freeman’s message was a simple one.

“He said, 'You know what the move is,’” Hobbs said of his conversation with the Notre Dame head coach. “‘We're doing something great and we really want you to be part of it.'”

It was good for Hobbs to reconnect with Mickens, who he says he speaks to “daily.”

“He always tells me that the ball is really in my court,” Hobbs explained. “He wants me to make the best decision for me, but at the same time he said, I'm giving you the opportunity.”

Watching Ben Morrison’s performance against the Tigers certainly left an impression.

“Just seeing him go out there and ball, just seeing a true freshman starting is really big,” said Hobbs.

And now he faces the same decision he has for the past several weeks; stick with his original commitment or flip to the Irish.

“It's a dream school of mine,” he said of Notre Dame. “Obviously, the ultimate goal when I make my final decision to go college is play early and be able to go to a school and be able to love being around the people I'm with. After going into the locker room and all that stuff and seeing the young guys get on the field, it was just great.

“It impacts a lot because one of the SEC, you never know what's going happen. I'm probably - 200, 300, 400 miles away from home - and Notre Dame's only four hours away. I don't know. It just does a lot.”

Hobbs’ current focus is on his Archbishop Moeller squad, which won a playoff game on Friday night, but he doesn’t anticipate the process dragging on beyond the winter.’

“As of right now, no. I'm really just going day-by-day,” he said. “I'm just trying to enjoy the whole recruiting process thing. You only get to do it one time, but I would say no later than February.

“I'm just trying to go out and win a state championship with my team right now, and after the season, that's really when I'm going to start trying to lock in and dial in on my last couple of months of recruiting.”

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