Jayce Halasz saved one of the biggest stops of his fall recruiting tour for last, and Notre Dame made the most of its chance.
"It was great," Halasz told Irish Sports Daily after taking in Notre Dame’s takedown of top-ranked Miami.
"The offense was doing what they were supposed to. The defense got a goal line stop and kind of set the tone for the rest of the game."
The Graham Kapowsin standout has more than a dozen offers, including Notre Dame, Alabama, Oregon, USC, Texas A&M, UCLA, Stanford and Washington among many others.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder got in early on Saturday, took pictures and spent the afternoon at the facility with the rest of the recruits and getting to know members of the recruiting staff he had not met before.
The staff's job for the day was making sure he felt at home, and Halasz said they did exactly that.
"They were just kind of introducing me, getting me comfortable around the area and the campus and just making sure I knew I was at home," Halasz said.
His impressions of the people went beyond the staff.
Halasz spent much of the day with 2028 Arizona defensive back Keaton Fields, who he has worked out with in Arizona, and he is close with Mississippi running back Zaiden Jernigan through their agency. Jernigan committed to Notre Dame during the visit, and Halasz said the group of recruits in South Bend is one he would fit in with.
"Great people for sure," Halasz said.
While some schools see Halasz as a defensive back, Notre Dame is recruiting him at receiver and the Irish offense gave him plenty to like. He noted CJ Carr was not forcing anything, working underneath and letting playmakers do the rest.
"They weren't forcing any deep shots," Halasz said. "They were kind of dumping it and diving it underneath and just letting players like Jordan Faison make plays. #14 (Micah Gilbert) stepped up a lot. I liked what I was seeing out of the receiving corps for sure."
There was also Marcus Freeman's pregame speech to the recruits, the moment Halasz kept coming back to when he tried to explain what separates Notre Dame.
"It's just different from everywhere else," Halasz said. "Coach Freeman came in pregame and just gave the recruits a good speech that I probably can't repeat, but it's just different for sure.
"It's Touchdown Jesus over there, so there's a completely different vibe from everywhere else."
The visit certainly moved the needle for Halasz as Notre Dame secured its spot in Halasz's Top 3, along with Oregon and Alabama, the two programs that have been strong with him for months.
South Bend was the last stop of his fall tour, so now that he’s back home, he’ll go back to the drawing board to see where every team sits. From there, Halasz will keep building relationships to get a better idea of where he fits and where he sits on recruiting boards. Another round of visits could come in the spring.
"I had a great experience. I don't think it could have gone any better and Notre Dame's a great place to be for sure."
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