Two weeks after his first trip to Notre Dame, Damien Shanklin was back in South Bend for another visit.
“Second time going there, they won the two times I was there,” says Shanklin, who was at the Irish’s blowout victories over USC and Pittsburgh.
“I liked it when I was there the first game. I just wanted to get back down to see more.”
The Warren Central High School standout saw “more of the same,” which was a good thing for the Irish.
“The atmosphere was the same,” he said. “The atmosphere was amazing.”
The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder has offers from schools like Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, Rutgers and USC among several others.
For the second time in a couple weeks, Shanklin was able to speak with Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive line coach Al Washington, and defensive line assistant Nick Sebastian. All three reiterated their previous message.
“They were just saying the same thing; just telling me that they need me there and they want me there,” said Shanklin.
“It feels good just to know somebody wants me.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two visits was the opportunity he had to spend with the other recruits and players on Saturday.
“They had me with the commits the whole time,” he said. “Last time, I didn't get to really stay in the locker room. This time, I got to stay in the locker room and talk to players and see coaches and stuff.”
Shanklin said the group is one he believes he’d fit in with well.
“They were kind of welcoming me there,” he said. “It was cool just talking to them and bonding with them.”
Notre Dame certainly has his attention.
“They're at the top of my list,” he said. “They're in the top three.”
Michigan and Cincinnati are always schools toward the top for Shanklin.
He visited Michigan State last weekend and is hoping to make stops at Tennessee, Louisville and Michigan soon.
He isn’t going to rush a decision.
“I'm going to take my recruitment slow,” he said. “It's just going to probably be some time.
“I'm going to be patient with my recruiting and stuff like that, so whatever happens in the future happens.”
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