Marshaun Thornton made the trip down from Chicago to check out Notre Dame’s game against Boise State earlier this month and the 2028 receiver enjoyed himself.
“It was great actually,” Thornton told Irish Sports Daily. “Seeing how they played. They played well, obviously, a good game from the start, but they got the upper edge on them and kind of took it over.
“It was great all around; the atmosphere, the fans, all welcoming. It was all good.”
The Mount Carmel High School standout had the chance to speak with Irish receivers coach Mike Brown both before and after Notre Dame’s win over the Broncos as well as head coach Marcus Freeman.
“We were just talking about how the season was going, how I was doing, and what he had planned for me coming up; getting to a camp or something of that nature,” Thornton said of Brown. “And I also got to talk to him after the game, basically just catching up, he was asking me how the game was and seeing if everything was good.
“I also talked to Coach Freeman, just introduced myself. He asked me how everything was going and that we'll keep in touch about after the season and stuff like that.”
Thornton’s initial impressions of the staff are positive.
“They're great people, very welcoming,” he said. “I haven't talked to them enough to know a lot about them, but just from that impression, they're good people, genuine people.”
Thornton has several early offers from schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri and Purdue among several others.
He was impressed with the Irish’s offense in person.
“The offense was pretty good,” he said. “They kind of balanced everything as far as running the ball and passing. It's kind of in a mix of my play style, so it's a good fit.”
He didn’t get a full campus tour, but what he did say, he liked.
“Campus was great,” he said. “It was big, actually. I came a little late, so I only got to see the stadium and the locker room and things like that.”
He also didn’t get a full academic presentation, but is confident that will come as they continue the process. Thornton does plan on getting back to South Bend at some point.
“Maybe for camp. If they don't extend an offer, I'll go down there just to showcase my talent and what I've been working on. So I'll definitely be back down there.”
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