Mabry Makes Most Of First Notre Dame Game

Cole Mabry will be suited up for every Notre Dame home game next fall, but until last Saturday night, the 2018 offensive lineman from Tennessee had never seen a game inside Notre Dame Stadium.

Mabry, who committed to the Irish back in February, was not disappointed.

“It was fantastic,” he said. “We started off and went to the Gug. Then we took a tour into the locker room. We ate some food, went out onto the field and watched the game.”

The 6-foot-6, 270-pounder from Brentwood High School was blown away by the atmosphere.

“It was unlike anything I’ve ever been in before,” he said. “It was fantastic.

“All of the tradition around everything, you’re on a fantastic campus, the fan support was amazing. I’ve never really seen a student section like that. That was awesome.”

It was difficult for him to imagine being in that atmosphere as a player a year from now.

“It’s kind of insane to think about,” he laughed.

He was also given the chance to meet many of his future teammates and fellow commits in the Class of 2018.

“I met a lot of them for the first time,” he said. “I got to talk to a lot of them. It was really good. I talked with John (Dirksen) a lot and talked with Bo (Bauer), Phil (Jurkovec) and Cade (McNamara) some too. They’re just all great guys. They’re easy to talk to. I’m looking forward to playing with them.”

He also had the opportunity to speak with a couple 2019 Tennessee prospects.

“I talked to a few Nashville guys,” he said. “(Defensive end) Joseph Anderson, he goes to Siegel, which is near Nashville. Then, I talked to Luke Smith, who is another Nashville kid, who’s a d-tackle.”

Mabry and Anderson already knew each other.

“We’re part of a program called NPA, which is kind of next-level training for high school athletes,” said Mabry. “We do one-on-ones and position training and stuff like that.

“He’s fast and he’s going to work hard.”

Anderson recently told Irish Sports Daily Mabry is in his ear about Notre Dame every time they see each other.

“I just mention that it’s the complete package with the education, the people there and the football team,” said Mabry.

Mabry will be back for the USC game next month and will take his official visit in December for Echoes.