2019 In-State LB Making Another Notre Dame Stop

Richie Hagarty‍ was at Notre Dame earlier in the year when the Irish took on the Bulldogs and the 2019 Indiana linebacker will be back in South Bend this weekend to watch #9 Notre Dame take on Navy on Saturday. 

“I have been up there once already, but I want to get the feel of how Notre Dame is and how the atmosphere is all the time because we went to Notre Dame versus Georgia and that is already a huge game,” the Indianapolis native said. “I just want to see the atmosphere and get to know the school more.”

The in-state standout has plenty of knowledge about Notre Dame and knows what it takes to be successful in South Bend, but would like to expand his knowledge and relationships with the Irish coaches on his upcoming visit.

“I learned a lot from the Irish invasion this summer,” he said. “We got a tour and we learned a lot about how they work. School is first there and you 100 percent have to focus on academics before football because if you don’t have the grades, you’re not going to be able to play football in general.

“You have to compete with the best to play with the best, so they expect 100 percent from you and anything less isn’t acceptable. I want to learn more about the coaches, I got to talk to the coaches a little bit, but not much, so just learn who the coaches are and talk to them a little more.”

Despite his broad knowledge of Notre Dame and having his sights set on building that player-coach relationship, Hagarty would also like to see the renovations that have been recently finished.

“I didn’t get to see their redone locker room, so I would like to see the new things that they did,” he said. “I have seen a lot of the campus already since I have been there already.

The Cathedral High School standout enjoyed the campus during his last visit to Notre Dame and is excited to see it again, but is most excited about seeing the atmosphere in South Bend.

“It is a very nice campus, it is small, but I very nice as well as clean always,” Hagarty stated. “It is compact so you don’t have to walk forever to class or take a bus. It is just a very nice, old traditional campus.

“I want to see the people and how they react to Notre Dame’s atmosphere in general and inside the stadium how fans react.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder has the obvious size that college coaches love and rave about, but what separates him from others are a few things that college coaches have seen in his film and expressed to the youngster.

“They like how I attack the ball, they say I use my hands well,” he explained. “I give a lot of effort and don’t give up on plays run to the other side, and I am always hustling to the ball.”

The youngster already has two offers from Indiana and Boston College, and has been active during his recruiting process, visiting many schools which has created a buzz from a few FBS schools.

“I have been to Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa, Indiana and a few others,” Hagarty listed. “Purdue, Northwestern and Michigan State are all showing a lot of interest.”

As a junior, Hagarty has plenty of time to make his decision on where he wants to play football, but he already knows what the two major factors to final decision will be and wants balance with both.

“The school in general, if they can offer a great education along with a great football atmosphere that is the main things for me, a good education and good football. It can’t be lopsided.”