In-State DE Ready To Check Out ND Again

George Karlaftis will get another look at Notre Dame this weekend, when the 2019 Indiana defensive end returns to South Bend.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder from West Lafayette took in a game at Notre Dame last fall and will get a chance to get a deeper look at the school and the program this weekend.

Karlaftis has early offers from Purdue, Indiana and SMU.

“He’s kind of a freak for his size, how fast he is, how athletic he is,” West Lafayette head coach Shane Fry says. “He plays angry, which is a trait you just love to have as a football coach because not everybody plays like that. He’s so raw right now. He’s only played one year of real football.”

Karlaftis got a sneak peek at the game as an eighth-grader.

“I think his first play ever, he jumped offsides and almost tackled the quarterback and the quarterback didn’t even have the ball,” Fry recalls. “Coming from that to where he is now, he’s only going to get better. He’s something else.”

Karlaftis has made serious strides since serving as West Lafayette’s kicker his freshman year.

“He kicked off for us and he was always the first one down,” Fry remembers. “He would kick it and then he’d run down and go down and make the tackle. But he wasn’t quite ready to play yet. Obviously, between his freshman and sophomore year, he’d get more reps and he started getting a better feel for football.”

Still, he hasn’t come close to his potential yet, according to his coach.

“He doesn’t even really know how to play football yet, which is probably a good thing,” says Fry. “He doesn’t have any bad habits. He’s very coachable.”

Karlaftis is listed as a defensive end, but Fry isn’t sure exactly what position he could end up playing.

“It’s hard to project,” he says. “We’ve had several kids the last couple years and what they play for us and what they might play at the next level, it’s hard to tell. He is very athletic, so there’s no reason he couldn’t play an outside backer type in space.

“For us, the d-line is perfect…He’s a hard worker, he’s dedicated. He’s a three-sport athlete. He does well in school. He has very high goals and he loves to please. He’ll work hard with whatever he does. That’s just kind of the person he is. He’s a real friendly kid.”

Karlaftis’ father went to Miami on a track scholarship and ended up playing for the Hurricanes’ football team.

“The stories I hear are that he was so athletic that the football team kind of recruited him from the track team and he ended up playing football for a couple years,” Fry says. “He was a really smart guy.”

Fry confirms that Miami remains Karlaftis’ dream school because of his father’s connection.

Still, the Irish could end up being a factor.

“Notre Dame has shown interest in him,” Fry says. “Obviously, it’s Notre Dame, so who wouldn’t be interested in Notre Dame, I guess.”

Karlaftis would camp at Notre Dame “for sure” if asked, according to his coach. Fry believes Karlaftis will have plenty of options to choose from.

“He’s going to be able to sit back and enjoy his high school years and have a lot of different possibilities for college.”