2025 DE Commit Joseph Reiff Talks Notre Dame & More
The year may not have ended with a championship, but the 2023 York High School football season was still a success to Joseph Reiff.
“I got a lot of friends for life and tons of great memories and a lot of learning experiences,” the 2025 Illinois defensive end tells Irish Sports Daily. “It was a great season.
“I couldn't be happier about it. I'm so proud of my team. I think we gave it our all.”
Reiff committed to Notre Dame over offers from schools like Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, Louisville and Cincinnati among others in September.
“The academics, the high-caliber football, the environment and the campus,” Reiff says of why he chose the Irish. “The academics were number one on my list, Notre Dame checked that box. High-caliber football, obviously it's Notre Dame. When you think of college football teams, you think of Notre Dame. They're second to none.
“Atmosphere, I was at the Ohio State game the night I committed, and that atmosphere was incredible, even though it didn't end the way we wanted it to. It's just that it felt right to me.”
He’s excited to be a part of Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class, which he joined during his visit to South Bend for the Ohio State game.
“It's an honor, honestly,” he says. “A lot of great guys, great humans and fantastic football players. I got along with everybody at my visit.”
The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder spent the offseason working on his craft at FIST Football Academy in Illinois and was thrilled to see that work translate to the field.
“It's great,” Reiff says. “It's why you go back in the next offseason. It's awesome. That feeling when you execute something you've been training all offseason on, whether it's a move or whether you overpower someone with your strength that you've been training and growing over the past eight months, it's really fulfilling and rewarding.
“I think my pass rush improve a lot. I had 11 sacks this year. My run game was a lot better just because of some of the size I added on from my sophomore, junior year, about 30 pounds. So that'll just continue to be better and better as I get bigger and more powerful.”
Reiff will be back at Notre Dame for next month’s Junior Day.
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