Drake Coellner made his third trip to Notre Dame for the Boise State game this past weekend and the 2028 Indiana safety left impressed.
“The atmosphere's electric always,” Coellner told Irish Sports Daily. “The coaching staff, I talked to them for a long time, more than all the past times and all the recruiting guys. I really like them. It feels like home already.”
The Carmel High School standout already has offers from schools like Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Duke.
Still, the Irish have his attention.
“The tradition, really,” he said of what he likes about Notre Dame. “Everyone's bought into it, even the fans and everyone just keeps coming back.”
While in town, he had the chance to speak with Notre Dame assistant safeties coach Casey McHugh.
“He said, 'We just love you coming down here,’” Coellner said of McHugh’s message. “‘Keep building our relationship and we want to get you back down here again.'
“It means the world to me. They've always been a dream school of mine. Growing up in Indiana, I always looked up to them and it's a dream.”
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Coellner plans to do exactly what McHugh asked.
“I think the next step is just to continue building the relationship really and just keep balling out in the season,” he said.
Coellner said he will “100 percent” be back again.
“Most likely in the offseason,” he added. “I have a couple other visits scheduled, but definitely in the offseason for sure.”
Coellner will be heading to Vanderbilt and Duke in the coming weeks.
It’s early, but he already has some idea of what will matter most when it comes time to picking a school.
“Probably just the relationship that I have with the coaches. What feels most like home, really. What suits me best.”
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