2028 DE Javontae Eldridge Impressed By Notre Dame Staff Early In Process
Notre Dame continues to resonate with Javontae Eldridge.
The 2028 Indiana defensive end visited South Bend for Junior Day and came away encouraged by both the program and its connections close to home.
The Fort Wayne native has already picked up early offers from Boston College, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Florida Atlantic and Kent State among others.
He doesn’t have an offer from the Irish yet, but there is interest on both sides and he’s been impressed with his trips down to South Bend, especially the time he’s spent with new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.
“I really liked it,” Eldridge told Irish Sports Daily of his most recent stop.
“I love Coach Partridge. He’s a visual teacher. He makes sure his guys really understand what they’re doing and shows them what they should do.”
The Wayne High School standout also spent time around head coach Marcus Freeman and pointed to the staff’s personality as another positive takeaway from the visit.
“Coach Freeman, he’s got a good personality,” Eldridge said. “Coach Partridge, he treats you like his own family. He treats guys like one of his sons. He invites you over to his house to have a good time. He treats you as his own son.”
Notre Dame’s presence continues to stand out, in part because of its growing pipeline from the Fort Wayne area.
“I personally love Notre Dame,” Eldridge said. “Especially since Tae Johnson and Mylan Graham went there and they’re only two hours out. So I think we should continue to keep going there.”
Eldridge has been active on the visit trail this spring with stops at Missouri, Michigan State and Indiana in addition to Notre Dame, with a potential trip to Cincinnati also under consideration.
He’s already planning a return trip to South Bend later this spring with his friend, 2027 Irish defensive end target Ifeanyi Emedobi.
“I’m supposed to go back with my boy Iffy,” Eldridge said, adding the Blue-Gold Game in a couple of weeks is a possibility.
The return visit will give Eldridge another opportunity to evaluate the program more closely, particularly the interaction between players and recruits.
“I would say just seeing how they interact with us more. Talking to us more and the players talking to us more. Giving us a little speech about how they think Notre Dame is and how they feel about Notre Dame themselves.”
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Comfort Colors OHT Camo Overlay T-Shirt
