Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph played it cool when it came time to extend a scholarship offer to Cameron Wagner during the 2027 Illinois offensive lineman’s trip to South Bend on Wednesday.
“We were in Coach Rudolph's office talking for probably 30 minutes,” Wagner explains. “Toward the end of it, he was like, 'All of our 2025 class who are here now and committed to us. They all went to the camp. Some of them had an offer when they came and some of them didn't.
“‘You're going to have an offer when you come to camp because we're offering you right now.' He just kind of said it real calmly, which was funny to me.’”
The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder already had offers from schools like Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State and Purdue. He was thrilled to add the Irish to that list.
“I just smiled so big,” he says. “I had a grin from ear to ear. I was just so excited.
“People know that Notre Dame is known for all of its o-linemen and it's just that A+ program.”
While in town, Wagner says he “saw literally everything.”
“We started out, we went to the team meeting, the offensive line meeting and we went to team practice,” he says. “I met the strength coaches. We had an academic meeting. We had a nutrition meeting. We went on a campus tour and we ate with the team. I talked with a lot of the players, a lot of the freshmen o-linemen, talked to them.
“Then we talked with Coach Joe Rudolph and that's when I got my offer. After that, we went to this recruiting presentation and just talked about what it means to be a Notre Dame offensive lineman and student-athlete there. Then, we met with Coach (Mike) Denbrock, the offensive coordinator. Then, I spoke to Coach (Marcus) Freeman for about 30, 45 minutes.”
The St. Joseph-Ogden star says his chat with Freeman was “great.”
“It was my first time ever meeting him,” Wagner recalls. “We were just learning a lot about each other in general. We just talked about family, talked about football. We're just getting to know each other, just trying to build that relationship.”
He also enjoyed the time he spent with Rudolph.
“He was awesome,” says Wagner. “I really liked him and I really liked the way he coached at practice. I loved his intensity, but I also loved the way he would still explain things to you and not just always be yelling.”
Wagner also appreciated the opportunity to speak with some of the current Irish offensive linemen, including reconnecting with freshman Cam Herron.
“I met him at a few recruiting visits last year and me and him kind of became friends,” Wagner says. “He recognized me from the year before and we just talked and I was like, 'What made you go to Notre Dame?' They answered all my questions honestly, and it was really nice.
Wagner was also impressed with campus.
“It was really good,” he says. “Obviously, it's not a huge campus and it's not the most flashy thing ever, but I really loved it, honestly. I love the environment.”
As for what’s next, he plans to stay in touch with the Irish.
“I'm just going to keep on building a relationship and I'm going to finish up my spring schedule,” he says, noting he has plans to visit Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska and possibly Alabama over the next couple weeks.
“I'm still focusing on getting bigger, faster, stronger, and focusing on my team next year. I don't have any camps set up yet, but I just want to keep building relationships with those coaches.”
He says he’ll return to South Bend this summer for camp if it fits his schedule. He plans on beginning to trim his list around this time next year.
The Irish find themselves in a good position following Wednesday’s visit.
“They exceeded my expectations and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, honestly. I loved it there.”
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