Liam Pagan hadn't heard from Notre Dame before receiving an invitation to visit South Bend.
The 2028 Illinois offensive lineman didn't need much convincing to accept.
Pagan will make the trip from Villa Park, Ill., to Notre Dame for Saturday's game against Stanford.
The invitation came after the 6-foot-4, 295-pounder got in touch with an Irish recruiting staffer.
That was Pagan's first direct communication with Notre Dame, but he was already plenty familiar with the program.
“Notre Dame's just a really good school, school-wise and also football-wise,” he said. “I always knew about Notre Dame and how good they are and just the way they are.”
Pagan was excited when the Irish expressed interest.
“It was just crazy to really think that I would be going to watch Notre Dame play for free and really see them in real life instead of on TV,” he said.
Saturday won't just represent Pagan's first visit to Notre Dame. It'll be his first college football gameday visit anywhere this fall.
Pagan wants to use the opportunity to get a better understanding of what Notre Dame is like beyond what he's been able to see from afar.
“Just their energy, just how the fans are and just the way the players are during a game and how hype they are and stuff like that,” he said of what he'll be watching for.
Pagan doesn't currently have any other fall visits scheduled, but his recruitment has already attracted attention from programs around the country.
He currently has offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Miami, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tennessee among others.
“It's crazy,” Pagan said of the attention. “Even just the type of offers like Tennessee, Oklahoma, those types of schools. I didn't really think that I would get those types of offers because those are really big-time schools.”
Pagan’s older brother, Enrique Cruz Jr., played offensive line at Syracuse and Kansas before being selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Cruz's advice has been to avoid getting caught up in everything surrounding recruiting and concentrate on his own development.
“He just told me it's a patient game,” Pagan said. “Don't really expect stuff and just don't really take the social media stuff seriously. If you see somebody getting offers all the time, just don't let that impact you.
“Just stay grounded and just keep grinding because coaches will see you at the end of the day.”
Pagan has plenty of time before he'll need to seriously consider making a decision, but he already has an idea of what will matter when that time comes.
“What really matters to me is just how they treat me. Outside of football, just the coaches' personality, just the way they are. Are they cool people or just the way they treat me.”
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