2026 DL Damari Simeon Talks Notre Dame Visit, Offer

Damari Simeon‍ had been to other colleges before, but the 2026 New Jersey defensive lineman never got a full campus tour of any of them before Thursday’s Grill And Chill at Notre Dame.

“It was unbelievable,” Simeon told Irish Sports Daily. “It set a high standard for the other colleges I'm going to be going to. It was great. Great experience, overall. The Basilica was beautiful.”

The experience for the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder was made even better when Irish defensive line coach Al Washington offered him a scholarship.

“He was talking to me one-on-one and just said their goal at Notre Dame is to win a championship and they think that I'm a championship-caliber player,” the St. Augustine Prep standout said. “I'm not there yet, but I definitely can be. If I keep working, I can be that guy.”

Simeon already had offers from schools like Penn State, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Duke, Boston College and others, but the offer from the Irish certainly made an impression.

“It was just unbelievable,” he said. “Notre Dame is such a prestigious school, a school like that, thinking that you're good enough to give you an offer is just insane. It's unbelievable.”

Simeon was able to meet and talk with head coach Marcus Freeman briefly - “It was cool talking to him,” - but spent the bulk of his day with Washington.

“I've talked to him a lot over calls, but this was the first time meeting him in person,” he said of Washington. “It was great. He has a lot of energy. I got to sit down and go over some film with him. He knows a lot. He can teach well and I understand it well. 

“I think it would fit me great. I told him some stuff that I wanted to work on and he showed me some game film about reading blocks and getting off blocks. I got to see that at the highest level. I got to see how they work it, what they do. It was really cool.”

He also felt he would fit in well with the other recruits Notre Dame was hosting. 

“100 percent,” said Simeon, who got to know the other visitors through a variety of games. 

“They were competitive, but we also had a lot of fun. There were a bunch of athletes, so nobody wants to lose.”

Simeon was able to learn more about the University as well.

“They had a presentation at the end and there was talk about the school and the networking connections and all of that, which is really cool,” he said. “Football's important obviously, but it's more than football at Notre Dame.”

Now that he’s been to South Bend once and has an offer from the Irish, he’s planning to get back, but doesn’t know when just yet. 

He called Thursday’s trip, “Unbelievable.”

“It was a great experience. The coaches were great.”

Looking to join a Fighting Irish community and get the latest scoop? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

'47 White Notre Dame Fighting Irish Rope Hitch Adjustable Hat