2025 LB Christian Thatcher Would Love To Visit Notre Dame

Christian Thatcher’s recruitment is taking off.

The 2025 Las Vegas linebacker has several early offers, including from Power Five schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Oklahoma.

The Sooners offer definitely made an impression.

“That was really awesome to have Demarco Murray as the recruiter for Oklahoma,” he says. “He came through and then we were able to talk with Coach (Brent) Venables.”

Thatcher is headed to Norman for a visit soon, “That’s one of my dream schools.” 

Utah is another program that has his attention.

“Utah is a really great school and produces a lot of really good linebackers,” he says.

 The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was also tremendously honored to receive an offer from Army.

“That was neat because they did character checks and checked all my grades out a lot,” he says. “School is important to my parents because they're both teachers and so I do kind of take pride in everything I do.

“It was neat for the West Point offer because they were actually the first ones to like really care about my grades and things like that.”

Other schools have shown varying levels of early interest as well and the athletic director at Arbor View High School let Thatcher know Notre Dame had requested his transcripts.

“I don't want to sound cliché or anything, but everybody has seen the movie ‘Rudy,’ and everybody loves ‘Rudy,’” he says. “You watch it and it's one of the most inspirational football movies there is. My dad had me watch ‘The Program’ and I love that. Those two are my two favorite football movies.

“My dad's always liked watching Notre Dame and so we always watched it on TV.”

His feelings for the Irish grew stronger when Marcus Freeman was named head coach.

“Because I knew he was a linebacker,” says Thatcher. “It's Notre Dame and then the head coach is an ex-linebacker, it doesn't really get better than that. I think the mentality of a linebacker is if you're a linebacker, you know the team is going to be tough, and hard-nosed and that's the thing that really kind of made me think.

“Notre Dame would always be in one of my top schools if the opportunity ever came for me to play there just because Coach Freeman and then Notre Dame, it's Notre Dame.”

Thatcher has never been to South Bend or Indiana, but was invited to camp this summer. He has some visits lined up to some other schools and wants to prioritize the schools that have already offered, but he’d love to get to South Bend.

“I told my dad that I really would love to try to make one work for Notre Dame,” he says. “I think once they see me in person, I think it will go well for me. Because I do run good times. I am strong, fast, and I'm great in coverage. I'm a good camp player.”

Still, Thatcher will need to find a way to fit in a date between his other visits and his own team’s summer camp.

“But if I have a day that I can make it, like June 22nd, or if there's some days that I can try to make it out there and it's affordable for my parents, as both my parents are teachers, I definitely will go to a camp,” he says.

“If not, I don't know. I'd love to go visit Notre Dame.”

It may be early, but Thatcher already has a good idea about what he’s looking for in a college.

“I think the most important thing for me and my parents is obviously I have to like the school,” he says. “Then it's the relationship that I have with the coaching staff, whether it be, obviously the linebacker coach. I would say relationships are probably there somewhere, somebody that I trust, somebody that really wants me in their program, and feels that I can contribute and be a part of it.

“I don't think I would go to a school just because, ‘Oh wow! Notre Dame offered me!’ I would want to go to a school like Notre Dame if I had a really good relationship with the linebacker coach and the coaches there, and I felt like, ‘This is going to be my home for the next however many years.’

“So, I would say the relationships are a really big part of it.”

Fanatics Branded White Notre Dame High Hurdles T-Shirt