Recruiting Week In Review
Wrotten by Joe Bradshaw
After their disappointing loss to Miami, the Irish got back on the winning track with a hard-fought victory over Navy. For the Notre Dame football program, the win was not only important on the field but in recruiting. There were dozens of recruits attending the Navy game, many of them from the 2019 and 2020 classes. However, there was at least one 2018 recruit in attendance that is very high on Notre Dame’s wish list and the Irish were eager to impress him as well as the undergraduate recruits. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Payton Wilson, LB, 6-4, 220, Orange County High School, Hillsborough NC is a relative newcomer for Notre Dame recruiting efforts. The four-star prospect does have ties to the Irish, though, through Defensive Coordinator Mike Elko and Linebackers Coach Clark Lea. When the two were at Wake Forest they recruited Wilson and developed a very strong relationship with him.
“Coach Lea and Elko are my guys and are great people,” Wilson said.
Lea and Elko might have been the ones that got Wilson to South Bend, but once he was there the game day atmosphere and the rest of the Notre Dame coaching staff took over.
“It was great,” he said. “I love the atmosphere and the fan base. Coach (Brian) Kelly is gonna take that program to an elite level.”
Wilson is currently committed to the in-state North Carolina Tarheels, but he admitted that the Irish gave him much to think about. When he was asked if he planned on considering Notre Dame moving forward he simply replied, “Yup.”
Wilson came to Notre Dame on his official visit with a scholarship offer in hand. Marcus Hicks, DE, 6-5, 230, Northwest High School, Wichita KS, on the other hand, visited South Bend on his own dime and without an offer. While the Irish couldn’t reimburse him for the trip, they could send him home with a scholarship offer.
“They brought me in to talk to Coach Kelly and he just said he likes how hard I work and he said he was happy with how I performed this season and then he offered me a scholarship,” Hicks shared. “I just couldn’t help but smile. I was speechless. There are now words to express how happy I was.”
Hicks already holds scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and many others. Still, adding Notre Dame to that list obviously thrilled him.
“I’m aware that Notre Dame is a very, very elite school,” he explained. “It just made me happy that they want me to be part of their team.”
This wasn’t Hicks’ first trip to South Bend. He visited during the summer and that trip impressed but being at Notre Dame for a game upped the excitement level.
“It was amazing,” he said. “Even though it was cold and raining, the fans were still really loud and still cheered on the team. It’s weird but I liked it during halftime when the fans started throwing marshmallows.”
Hicks received the opportunity to speak with his potential line coach, Mike Elston.
“Coach Elston said he was definitely going to come and watch me wrestle so I’m excited about that.”
While Hicks has no firm plans to return, he does acknowledge that could be possible. He did agree that Notre Dame is going to be a school he considers strongly moving forward.