Liam Pagan already has offers from several major college football programs, but there's one the 2028 Illinois offensive lineman would be particularly excited to add.
Pagan got a look at Notre Dame on Saturday and made it clear just how much an offer from the Irish would mean to him.
“I'll go crazy if they offer me,” Pagan said. “I'll really go crazy.”
The visit gave Pagan an opportunity to experience Notre Dame's game-day atmosphere, tour the new football facilities and meet offensive line coach Joe Rudolph for the first time.
The facilities made an immediate impression.
“Beautiful facility,” he said. “Really, really nice facility. Like it a lot.”
Pagan also watched the team's pregame walk, spent time on the field before kickoff and took in Notre Dame's blowout victory over Stanford.
It was the performance of the Irish offensive line that particularly caught his attention.
“They dominated,” Pagan said. “They were dominating off the ball every single play and never took a play off. They took every play seriously and played really quick, just really, really fast. And that's the pace I really like.”
The physicality and tempo appealed to Pagan, who had little trouble envisioning himself playing in Notre Dame's offense.
“I really do imagine myself playing there, playing on that offensive line,” he said.
Another important part of the visit was his introduction to Rudolph. He appreciated the opportunity to establish that initial connection.
“I just introduced myself to the offensive line coach because I haven't really met him before,” he said. “That was my first time ever meeting him.”
Pagan already holds offers from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Miami, Arizona State, Boston College and Florida Atlantic among others.
The possibility of adding Notre Dame to that list is particularly appealing.
“It's just Notre Dame,” Pagan said. “Everybody just knows Notre Dame and Notre Dame is a really, really big school and a really big program. Just to get an offer from them, it'd be a really big thing.”
For now, the next step is continuing to develop a relationship with the coaching staff and waiting to see what kind of interest the Irish show.
“Just waiting for the calls, waiting for the text messages, just a waiting game,” he said.
Pagan has several more opportunities to evaluate programs in the coming weeks. He's scheduled to visit Oklahoma next weekend, with Illinois, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Missouri also among his upcoming destinations.
He isn't ready to begin narrowing his recruitment, preferring to take more visits and consider his options before making any decisions.
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