Jordan Lewis didn’t have an offer from Notre Dame when he arrived in South Bend this weekend, but he left with one.
The 2029 South Carolina offensive lineman visited for Saturday's game against Boston College, and at the end of the visit, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph pulled him aside, told him he loved his film, praised the kind of person he is and his grades, and offered him. Lewis announced the offer publicly on Saturday night.
"It meant a lot, since Notre Dame is definitely at the head of the table when it comes to the o-line," Lewis told Irish Sports Daily.
The tradition is what brought him to South Bend in the first place.
"Guys like Zack Martin, Ronnie Stanley, people like that, it makes it hard not to come out and visit," Lewis said.
The Notre Dame offer joins dozens of others, including Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Florida, Florida State and South Carolina among many others. Lewis visited Ohio State for its home opener earlier this fall.
The Notre Dame visit lived up to his expectations.
"I love the touchdown pushups, stuff like that," Lewis said. "The traditions, it was pretty cool."
He paid close attention to the offensive line throughout the Irish’s blowout win.
"The o-line played as a unit and ran for like 300 yards," Lewis said. "In the first half, it was just domination up front."
Lewis noted Notre Dame runs basically the same schemes he runs at Dorman High School, which made it easy to picture himself in the offense.
His visit run is not finished.
Lewis visits South Carolina next week and Clemson the week after that. He plans to return to Notre Dame in the spring to sit in meetings and spend real time with the coaches and Marcus Freeman.
As for Rudolph, Lewis came away impressed.
"He seems like a genuine person that actually cares, but he's like an old school guy. He'll chew you out, but it's for sure to help you instead of tearing you down."
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