2026 ATH Marcello Vitti Has Serious Interest In Notre Dame

Saturday’s visit to Notre Dame began like a typical visit for Marcello Vitti‍.

The 2026 Michigan athlete checked in, received his name tag and looked at the trophy collection before entering the Irish team meeting, which is where things were different.

“I was like, 'What do they got basketball hoops in here for?'” Vitti said afterward.

During his address to the entire team, head coach Marcus Freeman would let everybody know what the hoops where there for.

“Coach Freeman called a couple people down there and they were playing Lightning,” the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder said. “That was pretty entertaining in the beginning.

“Then, we went on a tour. I saw the field, saw the tunnels where you see all the signs you can hit and all that good stuff. Locker room, we went there and then we took pictures and then we watched practice.”

The tour wasn’t totally now for the Dearborn, Mich., native.

“A year ago, myself and my family, we just looked around the campus,” he said. “I go to Catholic school and it kind of just reminded me of a big church.”

The Divine Child High School standout has early offers from Michigan, Penn State and Maryland among others.

“Obviously as a freshman, it means a lot,” he said of the early offers. “It means I'm doing something right. It means all the training and all the work I'm putting in is paying off and just to continue to work hard. It's an honor.”

He’s made multiple visits to Michigan and has also been to places like Michigan State and Penn State.

“The facilities (at Notre Dame), I would put them up there with all the other ones I've been to,” he said. “That weight room we walked past, I was pretty impressed with that one. The locker room, I think it's new. It looked really good.”

Vitti enjoyed watching the Irish’s practice session on Saturday.

“They went live,” he said. “They did a couple scrimmages. Most of the visits I've been on, they didn't do full scrimmaging and hitting. So, I got to see a little bit of fighting, a little bit of everything today.”

He also had the chance to speak with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden and safeties coach Chris O’Leary.

Coach Golden reached out to my coach and he was the one that invited me,” Vitti explained. “He just said, ‘We want to get you here. We like your film. We like the way you play. We like the speed. We like that you can play multiple positions on defense and we just want to start recruiting you early.’”

Vitti could play safety, corner or Nickel.

“Coach O'Leary told me something that kind of stuck with me,” Vitti continued. “He said, 'No matter what coaches stay or leave or things change, the thing about Notre Dame is it's always going to be Notre Dame. It's always going to have that rich history.' I mean, that stuck out to me.”

It’s still early in the process, so communication is somewhat restricted between college coaches and Vitti, but he’s sure he’ll be back at Notre Dame, possibly for a camp.

He’s hoping to add the Irish to his offer list one day.

“It would mean a lot. I grew up liking Notre Dame. My dad showed me 'Rudy' when I was a kid. One of the first football movies I've seen. I'm a big fan of Manti Te'o.”

Homefield Gold Fighting Irish Vintage Hockey T-Shirt ($37.99)