2025 Kicker Erik Schmidt A Top Target For Notre Dame
Notre Dame fans are familiar with the names that make up the Irish’s remaining board in the Class of 2025; Derek Meadows, JaDon Blair, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Madden Faraimo among others.
But there’s at least one other name Notre Dame fans should know.
Erik Schmidt is considered a crucial target for the Irish.
And just like the others, who have either already done so or will do so soon, the 2025 Wisconsin kicker will be on campus this month.
“I have a preferred walk-on offer there,” the Marquette University High School standout told Irish Sports Daily.
“They're waiting to see if I can get a scholarship, so I'm coming on the 18th to camp and then hopefully earn a scholarship.”
Schmidt is also receiving serious interest from schools like Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, Boston College, Missouri and Oklahoma among others.
While he’s hoping to land a scholarship, that likely won’t be a deciding factor in his recruitment.
“Obviously I'm looking to get a full scholarship wherever I go, but some places I'd be fine taking a preferred walk-on,” he said. “I'm confident I can earn a scholarship when I'm there, so it's not the biggest need, but I do want a scholarship.”
Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi is leading up Schmidt’s recruitment along with special teams analyst Jesse Schmitt.
“I like him,” Schmidt said of Biagi. “He's a really nice guy. I like his coaching style and I think he would be great to work with as a player.”
Schmidt is excited about getting back to South Bend.
“I've been looking at Notre Dame since my freshman year,” he said. “I've gone to a few games. It's an amazing atmosphere, a lot of tradition, great academics. There's so much I love about Notre Dame.”
Next week’s return won’t be a fact-finding mission for Schmidt.
“I know a lot,” he said. “I've been on many visits there, so I kind of know a lot about Notre Dame.”
Instead, he’ll be focused more on showing Biagi, Schmitt and the rest of Irish staff the power of his leg.
“I'm trying to show them long, accurate field goals, and same with punts and kickoffs,” he said. “I'm trying to give them my best performance.”
Schmidt was at Michigan and Alabama in recent weeks and heads to Wisconsin for an official visit and camp this weekend. After Notre Dame, he’ll head to Boston College for an official visit.
The respected Kohl’s Kicking ranks Schmidt as the #1 punting prospect in the country and the #8 kicking prospect.
He isn’t set on kicking, punting or doing both in college.
“It honestly depends where I go,” he said. “I'm confident that I can do both. I can do either, so it really just depends where I go. I think at Notre Dame, I'm more likely to kick.
“Doing both is very difficult at that level, so I don't expect to do both, but it would be nice.”
He does have a few items that will be crucial to his ultimate decision.
“When I would play, who the coaches are, my relationship with the coaches, my ability to improve while I'm there. I think those are the top things that I'm looking for when deciding my college.”
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