2028 OL Joseph Frierdich Looking Forward To Another Notre Dame Experience
Joseph Frierdich left his first Notre Dame visit with an offer and the Irish at the top of his list.
A return trip this summer only strengthened the relationship, and the 2028 Illinois offensive lineman is now planning to see Notre Dame in a game setting this fall.
The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder returned to South Bend to work at camp and has continued communicating with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, assistant offensive line coach Rob Delaney and head coach Marcus Freeman.
“Honestly, it's been going well,” Frierdich told Irish Sports Daily. “I've been training real hard. I've been grinding. I was able to get back up to Notre Dame for a camp, which I really enjoyed my time up there.
“I actually called one of the coaches the other day, was able to talk to Coach Rudolph and Coach Delaney. I was even able to text Coach Freeman.”
Even though the Carbondale Community High School standout has already been to Notre Dame multiple times, the Irish coaches want him to experience South Bend on a fall Saturday.
“They just want me to get back up there,” Frierdich said. “I am planning on coming to a game this fall.”
Frierdich and his family have narrowed the possibilities to two Notre Dame home games.
“We're still picking between two, either the Miami game or the SMU game, but it's most likely going to be SMU,” he said.
The SMU game is scheduled for Nov. 21, while the Irish will host Miami on Nov. 7.
Frierdich is looking forward to the opportunity to evaluate Notre Dame from a lens he hasn't had during his previous trips.
“I want to see how the coaches are during game time,” he said. “I want to see how the team executes. I really just want to go up there and see how they perform as coaches and players.”
Notre Dame will have plenty of competition for Frierdich's attention. The Carbondale, Ill., native already has several other visits planned for the fall.
“I pretty much have my schedule packed,” Frierdich said. “I want to make it to every school that has talked to me. I'm very grateful for them contacting me or asking to come to a game, but with my schedule, I can't make it to every game.
“I’m trying to get to a Kentucky game, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Illinois, Oregon, Notre Dame, Ohio State. I’m going to go to other schools, but those are all the set ones right now.”
Frierdich's offer sheet also includes Florida State, Indiana, LSU, Missouri, Penn State, Texas A&M, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin.
Football isn't the only sport that will factor into his college future.
Frierdich is one of the nation's top young throwers and has made it clear throughout his recruitment that continuing his track and field career in college is important to him. Notre Dame has embraced those ambitions from the beginning.
His performance in the discus this year were even more encouraging.
“This track season was amazing. I went out and won state as a sophomore, threw a big PR, 196. Then, this summer I went to New Balance Nationals and placed sixth overall.”
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