Irish Drop In On 2019 CA LB

Last week, Blake Antzoulatos‍ found out he was on Notre Dame’s radar when Irish linebacker coach Clark Lea made a visit to his high school and the 2019 California linebacker could barely put his excitement into words.

“It means the world to me, it is a surreal feeling, especially hearing about Notre Dame from a young age from my Grandpa and from people around me putting it on a pedestal, so for me to be on their radar is just surreal,” expressed the Chaminade High School standout.

Leaving a message for the youngster before leaving, Lea added immense interest for a visit in the near future.

“He said that he liked my film, that he wants to get more familiar with one another and that he would love to have me up to campus,” the West Hills, Calif., native explained. “I think I am going to the Chicago area for my little brother’s hockey tournament in January, so I talked to my parents and they said they are definitely up for driving the hour and a half to Notre Dame to see the campus.”

Knowledge of Notre Dame is something Antzoulatos already has with his Grandpa being such an avid fan, but there are certain relationships he would like to enhance as well as certain football-related things he would like to learn more about during a visit.

“I know that it is one of the most prestigious schools in the country, that they have a great football team my Grandpa is extremely biased; he loves Notre Dame and always has,” explained the 3-star backer. “He goes up there every couple years for a golf trip with his buddies, so he has always told me that there is no other place like Notre Dame and always hearing that has made me keep Notre Dame to a higher standard than anywhere else.

“I want to learn more about the program, about how things are run and I also want to get to more familiar with the coaches.”

Many aspects of the 6-foot-2, 212-pounder’s game catch college coaches’ attention. He currently has offers from Colorado State, Nevada and Oregon State while he’s receiving interest from several others.

“Stanford, UCLA, USC, Northwestern, Boise State, Fresno State and Washington State are showing a lot of interest,” said Antzoulatos.

“They say they like the way I play the game, with tenacity. They say I play the game the way it should be played and I always pride myself with playing hard-nose ironman football, you run at me, I run at you and whoever wants it more is going to win that battle.”

Antzoulatos’s style of play showed on the field, just finishing up his junior season with 150 total tackles, 14.5 for a loss and 8.5 sacks, but the grinder isn’t satisfied. He has a few aspects of his game he wants to focus on in the offseason so he can have a better senior year.

“I did very well in my opinion, but there are some things that need improvement although there was improvement from last year,” Antzoulatos explained. “I am going to put more emphasis on man coverage, as well as working on my hands and feet to improve my pass rush.”

Antzoulatos has high goals for himself not only on the field, but also in the classroom and explains the most important factors that will go into his decision down the road. As a junior, he has more time to turn some college scouts’ heads.

“Definitely a place where I can play at the highest level possible against the best competition, but also at the same time having a degree to fall back on if football doesn’t work out in the end. Academics are very important to my family and I and that is something my parents have always stressed from a young age.”