2028 OL Wyatt VanBoening Gets Different Look At Notre Dame

Wyatt VanBoening‍ saw one version of Notre Dame during his first trip to South Bend this season.

Eight days later, the 2028 Illinois offensive lineman got a chance to see another.

VanBoening made consecutive trips to Notre Dame for wins over Rice and Michigan State, giving one of the Irish's top offensive line targets in the class two different looks at the program.

"Last week it was domination, that's the best way to put it," VanBoening said of the Rice game. "And then this week they really stepped things up in the second half. They faced a little bit of adversity.

"I mean, they were ahead going into the half, but they faced adversity, they fought through, they adjusted and they came out on top."

That was something the 6-foot-7, 280-pounder from Carmel Catholic specifically wanted to see.

Before the season, VanBoening identified Notre Dame's response to adversity as one of the things he wanted to evaluate during a game-day visit.

"I got a little taste of it during the spring game, but I want to get a feel for the culture and just the environment and how they face adversity," the Mundelein, Ill., native said at the time.

After seeing the Irish dominate Rice, Saturday's 27-10 victory over Michigan State provided a different perspective.

The back-to-back trips also allowed VanBoening to experience Notre Dame Stadium on game day after his previous visits had come during the offseason.

"I think the game-day atmosphere, it has a lot of tradition," he said. "It's really genuine. It shows the spirit of the school and I guess how much pride they take in their tradition."

Notre Dame offered VanBoening during its Pot of Gold push in March, and he's been a priority for the Irish ever since.

He's developed strong relationships with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and offensive line assistant Rob Delaney while also getting to know head coach Marcus Freeman.

VanBoening has noticed something about the way the three have approached his recruitment. Their focus hasn't been on convincing him to make a quick decision.

"Their message to me, I think the biggest thing is they just want to make sure that if eventually I make the decision to go there, that it's the correct decision for me," he said. "They're just continuing to try to get to know me and check in and see how things are going and making sure I know what the program's about."

That approach has helped VanBoening develop his own impressions of the people inside the program.

"I think it shows that they want to be genuine," he said. "They don't want to force a relationship. They want to build something and I think that's how they've won games.

"I think they're truly connected as a team and I think that as people they strive to not only make themselves the best version that they can be, but help others to be the best version of themselves."

With four trips to South Bend since receiving his offer, VanBoening has had plenty of opportunities to evaluate Notre Dame from different perspectives.

He's becoming increasingly comfortable with what he's seeing.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm getting a better feel for the program," he said. "I like it. I think it's a good program. I think they offer a lot of great things.

"There's a lot of just great opportunities, whether it's football or outside of football. I think it's just filled with opportunity and it has just a lot of great aspects about it."

VanBoening doesn't have another Notre Dame visit scheduled right now. He plans to visit Northwestern when the Wildcats play Ball State and expects to make a trip to Iowa at some point.

A return to South Bend would likely have to come later in the season. VanBoening won't be at Notre Dame's game against Miami because he'll be visiting his brother at West Point for the Army-Air Force game.

For now, his focus with the Irish will remain on strengthening the relationships he's already established.

"As far as Notre Dame is concerned, I guess I'm just going to continue to build my relationship with the coaches, get to know them better," he said. "I don't have any visits as of right now planned in the future.

"I just want to continue to get to know them better and make sure they are what I think they are."

VanBoening had previously indicated he could make a commitment sometime between November and January, but he's no longer tying himself to a specific window.

"I've thought of it. I don't have any sort of particular timeline right now. I'm not stuck on a date or stuck on a time period of when I want to make that decision, but I think when I know the moment's right, I think I'll make a decision."

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