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Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Elite 2019 Safety Goes In-Depth on Notre Dame

May 6, 2017
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2019 Episcopal (Va.) safety Litchfield Ajavon is one of the top prospects in his recruiting class, and Notre Dame has already impressed the four-star prospect. The 6-foot, 185-pounder had defensive coordinator Mike Elko at his school recently, and the two have been working on developing a relationship.

“Coach Elko had come by my school last week to see me and some of my other classmates work out,” Ajavon told Irish Sports Daily. “I had spoken to him before, but it was the first time seeing him in person.

“He has been talking to me about football and my personal life. It’s been fun to get to know him.”

While the two haven’t had a chance to sit down and get to know each other, Elko is a coach Ajavon has an interest in getting to know more about.

“You can’t judge a person off the contact we’ve had, but he comes off as a genuine person,” explained Ajavon. “He’s an interesting person, and I want to get to know more about him. He also seemed genuine about learning more about my family and me.

“Coach Elko has told me about a coach that has a similar story to me. I thought it was cool to hear they have a coach that came from the Ivory Coast. I look forward to having more conversations with Coach Elko.”

Ajavon moved from Ghana to Baltimore when he was six years old and was unaware of the game of football. It wasn’t until a summer a few years after he had moved that football came into the picture for him.

“It was a battle to play football,” laughed Ajavon. “During the summer, I was in the park playing basketball, and one of the coaches in my neighborhood was looking for guys to play football. He asked if I had ever played before and I told him I hadn’t played football. I didn’t even know what it was and he told me to give it a try.

“I went on the field the next day, and I was playing tight end. A couple of weeks later, the running back quit, and I asked if I could play running back. I started learning different positions like quarterback and linebacker during Pop Warner. I had a chance to explore and experience the game of football.”

My dad wasn’t sold on letting me play football. He wanted me to play soccer because he felt football was going to get me injured. - Litchfield Ajavon
The battle to play the sport wasn’t due to hesitations from his end but from his father’s end. However, Ajavon won his father over, and both sides are more than happy with the path he has taken.

“My dad wasn’t sold on letting me play football,” stated Ajavon. “He wanted me to play soccer because he felt football was going to get me injured. There was a constant back and forth with him. I told him he got injured playing soccer, so I can get injured in whatever sport I played. I loved playing football, and finally one day he finally agreed and signed the form.

“He’s fine with me playing now.”

Notre Dame, Clemson, Duke, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin are a few of the programs that have offered the Virginia native, and Ajavon is starting to get out and take visits.

“I went to Georgia and Georgia Tech a couple of weeks ago,” Ajavon said. “I got to meet the coaches and see practice. Clemson is the other school I have been to so far.”

Notre Dame fans shouldn’t be worried about where the Irish sit with the talented safety, as Ajavon wants to get to South Bend as soon as possible.

“I wanted to visit Notre Dame this spring, but I run track and field, and it wouldn’t look right to leave my commitment, my team. I am not trying to jam anymore into the schedule because it’s already compact.”

“I am going to focus on track, and then in the summer my coach and I will take some visits. Notre Dame will be the first. It’s the place I want to see the most right now. We might take a trip to Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State. We probably will see Indiana too.”

Ajavon knows a lot about Notre Dame, as many around him have connections with the program. He had the opportunity to speak with someone with a Notre Dame background, and it opened his eyes.

“It was shocking,” Ajavon said of the conversation. “We talked about the tradition, education, history, and athletics. It was pretty cool most people that try to talk to me about going to a school; they want to talk to me about football. He said Notre Dame was a place you will know you want to go to after you visit and it wasn't a place you would decide to go to before getting the chance to experience it.

“We talked about how rigorous the academics are and how the weather is during the different seasons. We even talked about the culture on the campus.”

It showed me there was a difference between my other schools. - Litchfield Ajavon
With some of the nation’s top programs recruiting him, it’s easy to get lost in the hype, but Ajavon saw the bigger picture and after the conversation was even more comfortable with what he was looking for in a school.

“It showed me there was a difference between my other schools,” explained Ajavon. “I saw how Notre Dame set itself apart from other top schools. The game only goes so far, and Notre Dame will set you up for life after football. It was a great insight into things I wasn’t even thinking about.”

When it comes to Ajavon’s checklist, you won’t find a certain scheme or defense he wants to play in. He knows that stuff changes year to year, and he is looing for a place he can find comfort and enjoy playing the game.

“I didn’t have a childhood,” Ajavon stated. “I had to grow up pretty quickly. Football is fun for me. It’s where I go to have fun, and it’s supposed to be fun. I want to go somewhere I can go and have fun playing football. People take it so much as business and forget about why they started playing the sport in the first place. I want to keep that in me because when you’re having fun, you can excel at something.

“I want to connect with the coaches as well. I want to go somewhere I have great relationships with the coaches, and they can coach me hard. I want a family feeling and a strong support system in place for the athletes and students. Those are the things I look for when I go on my visits and talk to the people around the program. I want to find the perfect fit.”

On the academic side, Ajavon already is considering a few majors, and Notre Dame should be in good shape if that’s the path he chooses to go down.

“I want to study Communications and do Business Management too,” said Ajavon. “I want to find a good academic fit no matter where I go because football only goes so far. It just boils down to where I feel comfortable and grow as a person.”


 
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