2025 OL Darrin Strey Recaps Recent Notre Dame Trip

Darrin Strey‍ had been to several Notre Dame games before, but the 2025 Michigan offensive lineman’s return earlier this month was his first as a recruit.

“It was a great visit,” the 6-foot-7, 285-pounder said. “I got to meet up with the coaches, see another Notre Dame game. Obviously, it wasn't my first, but it was awesome.

“I've probably been to eight or 10 games probably in my lifespan. I used to go to the spring game all the time too.”

But going as an invited prospect was certainly different.

“Well, I was definitely a lot closer than I usually was, being on the sidelines,” he laughed. “I looked at it with almost a different eye and it was still as beautiful and as great as it was.”

Strey - who has more than a dozen offers from schools like Michigan State, Minnesota, Indiana, Kansas, Cincinnati and Duke among many others - said the tradition and fan base at Notre Dame stick out to him. 

“It seems like everything just aligns there,” he said.

During his most recent trip to South Bend, he had the opportunity to speak with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and offensive coordinator Gerad Parker.

“They said they definitely like my film,” Strey recalled. “They're kind of just slow to offer right now, but they like my film and they said I'm a great fit for their offense and that they'll meet up with me after the season's over.

“It's been my dream to go there since I was little. I mean, obviously it's changed a little bit now, but it's still there. Just the little kid in me hearing that, it makes you feel good.”

His impressions of Rudolph are positive.

“I got to go to a Notre Dame camp this summer and he seems like a very genuine guy outside of the sport,” he said of the Irish offensive line coach. “He definitely knows what he's doing. I liked his coaching style at camp. He seems like a great guy.”

Evaluating offensive line coaches is going to be crucial to Strey’s choice.

“Just getting with the right coach who I feel is going to make me the best player I can be,” he said of what he’s looking for in a college.

Strey visited Penn State this past weekend and has Kansas and Nebraska next.