Coach | Notre Dame Could Be Fit For 2024 Safety Kennedy Urlacher
Kennedy Urlacher will announce his college decision on Monday evening and it’s obvious Notre Dame is one of the top contenders for the 2024 Arizona safety.
“He loves it out there,” says Mike Underwood, the safeties coach at Chandler High School.
“I think the tradition, obviously. You talk about Notre Dame, who doesn't recognize that, right?”
Urlacher, who will make his choice public at 6 p.m. EST tonight, made his first visit to South Bend last month and left giving it high marks.
“He really enjoyed his time with the coaches,” says Underwood. “He said everybody was really friendly, easy to talk to. He just got a really good vibe with the coaches and the atmosphere of the campus. Overall, he just really enjoyed the trip.”
That has been a crucial factor as Urlacher has gone through recruiting process, which has seen him receive offers from schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Washington, TCU, Nebraska, Illinois, Miami and New Mexico.
“He's a relationship guy, so the schools and coaches he's developing the strongest relationships with are going to be the schools he's going to focus on,” says Underwood.
“I think a lot of that is he has a lot of good people around him who are allowing him to do his thing and giving him the right advice.”
One of those people is his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher.
“One thing that I always really loved about Kennedy is he definitely wants to make a name for himself,” says Underwood. “He doesn't like it when people say, 'Oh, Brian Urlacher's son...' He's like, 'Eh, I love my dad. He's great, but I'm out here trying to try to do my own thing.'
“His dad's doing a great job and letting him just kind of figure it out on his own. Just the type of kid Kennedy is, he wants to know he's going to have a good relationship, he's going to have good coaches and a good coaching staff that are going to support him.
“He's not trying to ride the coattails of his dad. He's trying to make his own way and make his own name and create his own path in a sense.”
Everybody will find out today if that path will go through South Bend.
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