Recruiting Week In Review
Notre Dame football fans hope that the Irish are poised to have a banner day on February 7th when the last few recruits in the Class of 2018 make their final decision. What may even turn out to be more exciting is the much faster start that Notre Dame has generated for the Class of 2019. With three verbal commitments already, the Irish appear to be at the top of several other 2019 recruits’ list. Last week Irish Sports Daily reported on two prospects from the talent-rich state of Texas that recently visited South Bend and came away with Notre Dame at or near their favorite schools. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Hunter Spears, DT, 6-4, 290, Sachse High School, Sachse, TX previously visited Notre Dame and acknowledged that he saw much that the Irish have to offer. However, during his latest visit he also began the process of bonding with future teammates and coaches.
“I got to spend a little more time down there this time and got to meet some new people so it was really good,” he said of his latest visit. “I got to see a lot last time, but my dad and I got to walk around, this time earlier in the day and just the people I got to meet and the relationships I got to build were the best part.”
Spears began the bonding process with both his potential future teammates and the Notre Dame coaches, an experience that he enjoyed.
“Notre Dame has such a big pull from all over, so I got to meet a lot of people, people from Tennessee, California, Georgia, just all over and a bunch of kids I would never get to meet other places because they have such a wide pool,” he explained. “I would definitely say that the d-line group, we formed a pretty good relationship.”
Spears spent plenty of time with his future position coach, Mike Elston.
“I got to have a one on one meeting for an hour where we just got to talk football, about scheme and how I fit,” he shared. “I also got to talk to coach (Brian) Kelly for about fifteen minutes about how I fit their program and how interested they are in me and how special I mean to them. It was just really good to get to know them better.”
Spears was especially impressed with his meeting with Elston. Not only did the Irish Defensive Line Coach share with him how he would be used but also showed him the family-oriented nature of the Notre Dame football team.
“What stuck out to me most was how close him and his d-line boys are, how much of a home away from home it is and he just cares a lot about them,” Spears said. “He also talked a lot to me about how he would develop me not only as a player but also as a person.”
While Spears wouldn’t say that Notre Dame was leading, he made it clear that they’re definitely one of the schools he will strongly consider moving forward. One of the boxes that the Irish still have to check is about his getting into their pre-med program.
“I wouldn’t say that I have a top school but they are right there at the top,” he admitted. “As long as I can do that (get into the pre-med program) Notre Dame would be hard to beat.”
Spears has a visit to Oklahoma scheduled and with offers from over a dozen schools the four-star recruit will have no shortage of choices when he makes his commitment on his birthday, September 15th. The Irish should be in the final mix.
“The tradition, along with the rich football history they have, as well as them being a big powerhouse football program,” he said of what attracts him to Notre Dame. “Education is really important to me so that is just a big thing for me.”
Unlike Spears, NaNa Osafo-Mensah, DE, 6-4, 240, Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, TX had never been on the Notre Dame campus so his visit to Notre Dame’s Junior Day was a real eye-opening experience for both his family and him.
“It was great honestly,” he said. “I loved the experience over there. I just liked the atmosphere over there; everything from the student life to how the coaches care so much about their players. Aside from the fact of them being football players, they care so much about raising them to be great men in society and the community.”
Osafo-Mensah was part of a group of defensive linemen that attended the Irish Junior Day and the thought of most or all of them ending up in South Bend has fans and the recruits themselves very excited.
“It was a lot of fun just hanging out with all those guys like Mazi Smith, Joseph (Anderson), Jacob (Lacey) and Hunter (Spears),” he shared. “It was really cool. We spent a lot of time bonding together. All of us talked about how cool it would be if all of us ended up going there and how great we would be as a defensive line.”
Osafo-Mensah also enjoyed his time with Elston.
“He’s almost like a father figure up there for us as defensive linemen,” he explained. “Even though we’re going to be away from home, he’s going to be the type of coach who will show us the same hospitality as if we were still at home.”
The four-star prospect also met his potential future defensive coordinator, Clark Lea.
“He just talked about how great of a future this defense has at Notre Dame and I could have the chance of being part of such an elite defense in the future,” he shared. “He was just telling me about that and how much I could impact their team.”
Osafo-Mensah’s family is very focused on academics and Notre Dame did not disappoint them in their presentation of the long-term benefits of a good education.
“They stressed the fact that Notre Dame is an elite school as well as an elite football program,” he said. “But if you’re a kid who just wants to go to Notre Dame to play football, then it’s not going to be the place for you.”
Osafo-Mensah continued.
“Football will eventually end for everybody, so he always stressed the fact that that degree will take you further in life than football will.
His parents also were impressed by the academic side of Notre Dame.
“They loved it a lot, especially my dad,” he shared. “My dad is really big on the academic parts of it, so he really cherished everything that Notre Dame provided for us.”
Osafo-Mensah is planning to attend a Texas A&M Junior Day but also has an eye on getting back to South Bend.
“I don’t know when yet, but I’m going to be looking in the future when I can do that,” he said. “There’s nothing more I want to see. I just want to go on an official visit to Notre Dame honestly because it’s one of my top schools.”
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.