Trust & Opportunity: Will Pauling’s Seamless Transition to Notre Dame
When Will Pauling entered the Transfer Portal, the odds of him ending up at Notre Dame were extremely high.
The 5-foot-10, 192-pounder played his high school football 90 minutes West at Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.), but previously played for Notre Dame receivers coach Mike Brown not once, but twice.
Brown recruited Pauling to Cincinnati, and then both went to Wisconsin in 2023, where the Illinois native had his biggest season to date by recording 74 catches for 837 yards and six touchdowns.
Why was it an easy decision to play and trust Brown for a third time? Character.
“Coach Brown is an amazing guy,” Pauling explained. “At this point, I don't really consider him a coach. He’s more family to me. I’ve known him since I was 16. He’s a guy I really look up to as a coach, but also as a man. He’s helped me grow a lot as a player on the field, but as a man. I tell people all the time that Coach Brown is someone I envision inviting to my wedding. It means a lot to play for Coach Brown.”
Pauling will bring experience to a young receiver room, but don’t think he arrived with an ego. The graduate transfer has already embraced team glory and is willing to play any position, which includes special teams.
“It’s important to play a little bit of the outside and inside, just so you have a little bit more of a skill set,” stated Pauling. “I think another thing that really attracted me was the opportunity to get involved in special teams. Whether it’s at punt returner, kicker returner, running down on gunner, making tackles. I think my skill set and what I can bring to the table allows me to do a little bit of everything.”
A position battle may have to wait until fall camp for Pauling. Health is at the forefront of this spring as Pauling had a small operation to clean up a fracture in his foot when Notre Dame doctors discovered it when he arrived on campus.
“They took an X-ray of my foot and it showed just a small fracture,” explained Pauling. “So they went ahead and put a screw in there, just to make sure everything was good, so down the road when we get to fall camp, nothing would linger.
“I’m glad we were able to take care of it now. I already feel a lot better. I don’t know if you guys have been able to see individuals, but I’ve been running around. I’m almost back to normal, so it’s not holding back at all.”
While Pauling might be limited in practice, he has had time to work with the quarterbacks and get to know each one of them.
At this point in his career, Pauling has seen several quarterbacks, and it’s telling he believes in Notre Dame’s room without playing a game.
“From the outside looking in, you know everyone in the room is super talented,” Pauling said. “What stands out to me is the people they are. Within an hour of committing, Steve Angeli reached out to me and said, ‘Congrats. Can’t wait to get to work.’
“I got on campus, and Kenny Minchey was one of the first guys to invite me to team Bible study, which was awesome. CJ Carr is super talented and helped me dive into the playbook when I first got here. All three bring different attributes on the field, but all three are great leaders.”
As it relates to his Notre Dame experience, Pauling has no regrets with his decision to end up in South Bend.
“I definitely have to say the people,” said Pauling. “Before you come in, everyone says Notre Dame has great people. You come in and you see it for what it is. It’s been special to me to get around the community, whether it’s professors, coaches, or people involved in the program. They’re all really great people. They’re all genuine people and that’s stood out to me.”
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