"I can already say Notre Dame is a Top 5 school for me."

Every high school prospect dreams of getting a phone call from a college blue blood and getting an offer. 2018 Pacifica (Calif.) linebacker Isaak Togia received two phone calls on Tuesday night that changed up his recruitment.

“Penn State offered around 7 o’clock, and about an hour and a half later, Notre Dame called, and they offered me too,” Togia told Irish Sports Daily. “It was amazing. They were great phone calls to receive.”

The three-star prospect had been in touch with both schools before the offers, but the Irish had been in contact since last year.  

“I had been getting emails, and they followed me on Twitter, but then all of a sudden they offered,” Togia said of his Penn State. “It was kind of out of the blue to get the Penn State offer.

“Notre Dame has always been there since my sophomore year. They hadn’t been pursuing me hard. I didn’t think they were going to offer me and it was amazing to get offered on Tuesday night.”

Defensive coordinator Mike Elko spoke with the California native and told him a little bit about where he see’s him fitting into the defense.  

“Coach Elko was the coach that offered me,” explained Togia. “He wants to get me to Notre Dame and show me the campus. They really like the way I play the game.

“He specifically was talking to me about outside linebacker. I am open to any position too.”  

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder plays inside backer for Pacifica, but he is more than open to playing on the outside. Togia wants to get on the field regardless of position.  

“I'm listed on all the recruiting sites as an outside linebacker,” stated Togia. “I play middle linebacker for my high school, so I am open to all positions. My freshman year, I started on varsity at safety and then my sophomore year I played wrecker, which is like a rover position. As a junior, I played middle linebacker and will play that this year.”

Notre Dame will have some stiff competition from the West Coast as many Pac-12 programs are recruiting Togia.

“Arizona, UCLA, USC, Washington, and Washington State are coming after me hard,” said Togia. “A lot of the Pac-12 schools are recruiting me. The top three schools giving me the most attention are Arizona, UCLA, and USC.

“Arizona has offered me. USC hasn’t offered yet. There is a class I need to take for them to offer me. When I am officially a senior, and they see my transcripts, they said I would get an offer then.

“As far as grades, I am on track. Obviously, Notre Dame offered me, so I have to be on track.”

Togia has visited Arizona, Washington, UCLA, and USC for unofficial visits, but Notre Dame is in prime position to get an official visit.

“Ever since I was a little kid, it has been a dream to attend Notre Dame,” Togia stated. “I haven’t really broken down my recruiting process, and I can already say Notre Dame is a Top 5 school for me. I have heard the culture, and everything is great.

“I will be making a visit to Notre Dame. I know that for sure.”

Academics will play a big factor for the Pacifica star, and Togia knows about Notre Dame’s academic prestige.  

“We all think about football to go to the league and stuff, but I want to get my education first,” said Togia. “As far as Notre Dame, it doesn’t get better than that.

“I would like to go to a school that has a good major in Kinesiology. I am doing a little bit of research on that to find out which school is the best for that major.

"I am looking forward to the athletic side of college, but also furthering my education.”  



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