Aidan O'Neil burst onto the Irish recruiting radar with an offer from Notre Dame earlier this month.
The opportunity materialized after Irish defensive line coach Charlie Partridge stopped by Don Bosco Prep in late last month.
“I first talked to Coach Partridge, when he came by the school,” O’Neil said. “It was a really good conversation. I feel like he’s a coach I would want to play for. It feels like he definitely knows what he’s doing.”
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder said Partridge indicated an offer could be coming. A couple weeks later, it arrived along with some words from head coach Marcus Freeman.
“He FaceTimed me out of the blue when I was on my way home from school,” O’Neil said. “My friend was driving me home and he puts me on the phone with Coach Freeman. He was like, ‘We’re really excited about you.’ Then he was like, ‘Yeah, you got the offer.’”
The Ramsey, N.J., product processed the moment with perspective.
“I wouldn’t say I was really surprised. I was super grateful,” O’Neil said. “It was honestly a little stressful too because now I’ve got another school that I’ve really got to look into. It’s a blessing. I’m so excited.”
His offer sheet includes programs such as Notre Dame, Indiana, Illinois, Penn State, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Tennessee among several others.
A trip to South Bend is already scheduled as O’Neil will be on campus for the March 21 Junior Day.
“Notre Dame itself, you hear Notre Dame, it’s one of the most prestigious universities ever,” he said. “The football team itself, I feel like it’s such a high standard that they have there and I want to be a part of that.
“I want to see what they have in store culture wise and what they can do for me and why I should go there.”
Partridge left a strong early impression.
“He’s a personable guy,” O’Neil said. “I feel like he’s really down to earth and I feel like he’s a really good person and he knows what he’s doing. He’s been around.
“I want to find people that I want to be around first and then see how well they can really coach. I’m going to be around these guys 365 days of the year. I need to know, is this someone I can see myself around every day.”
Freeman also made an impression during their initial interaction.
“He’s pretty funny,” O’Neil said. “I’ve seen him on TV many times. I think he’s exactly how I would expect him to be. He had some good things to say about me and he’s a coach that I would want to play for for sure.”
O’Neil has several other visits set for this spring, including Indiana, Illinois, Penn State and Texas A&M, while Tennessee remains a possibility. He was also at Kentucky earlier this spring.
After completing those trips, he plans to tighten his focus.
“I’m going to narrow things down after the spring practices. These schools are all giving me a shot, so I’m going to give them a shot as well. I’d bet one of these schools is going to be the one I go to.”
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