Notre Dame Makes Its Position Clear To 2028 OL Kajus Muralis

Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph made sure Kajus Muralis‍ understood exactly where he stood with the Irish during Saturday's visit.

The 2028 Illinois offensive lineman left South Bend knowing his offer is a committable one, but that Notre Dame isn't pressuring him to make an immediate decision.

The 6-foot-7, 255-pounder returned to Notre Dame with his parents for the Irish's 58-7 victory over Stanford. The visit provided another opportunity to spend time with Rudolph and get a better understanding of how he fits into Notre Dame's plans.

“He really talked about the family with Notre Dame and how I'd be a good fit,” Muralis said.

“He was explaining to me and my parents that my offer is committable for a reason. He's not pushing for my commitment. I have all the time in the world to commit, but it is a big important piece.”

Notre Dame offered Muralis over the summer, and the Irish have held a prominent position in his recruitment ever since.

At one point, Muralis considered Notre Dame his dream school and the leader in his recruitment. While his interest in the Irish remains strong, his growing list of opportunities has given him more programs to consider.

That makes Notre Dame's continued pursuit especially important.

“I feel like Notre Dame was my only really big offer, but now it's just like I have so many schools in the mix now,” he said. “They're definitely a standout school, but continued interest is definitely going to be big.”

Muralis paid close attention to Notre Dame's offensive line during pregame warmups, studying how Rudolph worked with his players and how the group prepared for the game.

“I was thinking about myself, how would I do this? How would I do that?” he acknowledged. “I really liked watching the plays and seeing how it's similar to my offense and how I would fit in it.”

He believes his athleticism would translate well to the Irish's offensive system and came away encouraged by what he saw.

“They need fast linemen and I feel like I fit that really well,” he said.

Still, Muralis isn't close to making a college decision.

He has a busy stretch of visits ahead, beginning with Michigan State next weekend. Trips to Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan and Indiana are also on his schedule, with Iowa another possibility.

Those visits will give him additional opportunities to compare programs before beginning to narrow his options.

“After the season, I'll probably cross out the schools that I'm definitely not going to go to,” he said. “Then probably in the spring, after all my spring visits, I think I'll probably get down to my final four, and then from there I'll commit, maybe on official visits.”

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