Merrick Ham has been to Notre Dame before, but not like this.
The 2028 Georgia defensive end earned his Irish offer at Irish Invasion this summer. On Nov. 7, he will be back for the Miami Showdown, and the Irish - led by defensive line coach Charlie Partridge and defensive line assistant Nick Sebastian, have made sure he will arrive with them near the top of his list.
"I'd say they're definitely one of the top schools reaching out, texting Coach Partridge, Coach Sebastian, almost daily," Ham told Irish Sports Daily. "It's been really great getting to know them and just them getting to know me, building the relationship."
The message from the staff has covered more than football.
"If you come to Notre Dame, they're going to prepare you for the NFL and get a great degree and change who you are as a man," he said. "It's not just what they can do for you on the field, but also off of it."
The relationship has room for more than recruiting talk too. Ham and Sebastian have found a shared interest during October.
"He's actually a big Guardians guy," he said. "I'm a big Braves fan, so the bond with him over the MLB playoffs has been great."
Ham holds offers from Georgia, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan and Nebraska among others.
His connection to Notre Dame runs deeper than most. His late uncle, Paul Duncan, played offensive line for the Irish, and Ham grew up on stories about South Bend. What he has not seen is a Notre Dame game day, and the Miami game will offer the brightest lights South Bend sees this season.
"It's going to be the biggest game of the year," he said. "Everyone's going to be rocking and rolling. So I'm excited to see that atmosphere and be a part of it."
The Marietta High School standout has already been to Auburn, Ole Miss, Georgia, Florida and Indiana this fall. Michigan is up this week, then Notre Dame, Nebraska and a return trip to Ole Miss.
He plans to narrow his list after the season or following the January recruiting period with a commitment likely sometime next spring. For Ham, the decision will come down to feel as much as football.
"That's a big thing for me, that family atmosphere, where football is super important to the community and the community has your back," he said. "They want you to do great and you want to do great for them.
"Then there is the relationship with the coaching staff, because that's who you're going to be spending all your time with."
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