2025 DE Damien Shanklin Recaps Notre Dame Stop

After getting offered by Notre Dame over the summer, Damien Shanklin‍ made his way up to South Bend for the Irish’s game against USC last week.

“It went well,” the 2025 Indiana defensive end told Irish Sports Daily. “The atmosphere was great. Got the W at the end, which made it even better.

“Defense played amazing. It was great watching the defensive ends and the secondary just ball, and also the offense. They were running down the field. They played with a chip on just going out there balling. I could see myself playing there.”

The atmosphere in and around the stadium also stood out.

“It felt great just being there, seeing everything, seeing everything going on,” he said. “It was amazing. At halftime, when we were walking up to get food, the fans and all that was and stuff.”

The Indianapolis native had the chance to speak with Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive line coach Al Washington.

“They just told me, keep my head up, stay focused in school and just keep doing what I'm doing and I could do something in life,” Shanklin recounted. 

“I talked to Coach Wash, he told me that I can be a beast. He told me he could see me playing my freshman year and also just helping the team out if he sees something very special.”

In addition to Notre Dame, Shanklin’s current offer sheet includes schools like Michigan, Purdue, Louisville, Texas and USC among several others.

The Warren Central High School standout wants to return to learn more.

“I want to get back to see more outside of football,” he said. “Probably like the Business school, just around the school. Just see more things about the academic part.

“I've seen the athletic part, so just getting more into it and learning more.”

Shanklin was at Michigan State on Saturday and has plans to see Michigan in the coming weeks.

Under Armour White Notre Dame Fighting Irish Motivate 2.0 Half-Zip ($89.99 $65.69)