Coach: Hunter Spears "Good Fit" For Fighting Irish

Hunter Spears‍ just committed to Notre Dame, so we reached out to Sachse High School head coach Mark Behrens to find out what the Irish are getting in the 2019 Texas defensive lineman.

“One, he’s a high-character kid,” Behrens told Irish Sports Daily. “He’s going to do what you ask him to do. He’s a steel football player in a big man’s body. He’s going to fit Notre Dame. He’s a heckuva football player.”

At one point, Spears was listed as a defensive end prospect, but he’s a defensive tackle all of the way now.

“He’ll be an inside guy,” Behrens said. “He’s 280, 285 right now. He’ll definitely be an inside man.”

Spears missed his junior season with a torn ACL, so Behrens is excited about getting him back in the fall.

“I’ll be real honest, as a sophomore, he was 245,” the coach said. “Shoot, now he’s gotten to be pretty big. We’re trying to figure it out.

“We’re going to put him inside, we just don’t know if we’re going to run an odd front just for him or run an even front. We’re an even front by trade, but we’re thinking making it a 3-4, putting him at nose and letting him cause havoc.”

Spears made a trip to South Bend in the fall and returned for last month’s Junior Day.

“He really enjoyed his visits,” said Behrens. “He’s a very smart kid. He’s a 4.5 kid. He went down there and saw the football. The academics has always intrigued him, but the football really, really got him fired up when he went down and visited Notre Dame. I’ve had the opportunity to go there and watch a game myself. The tradition there; some kids are about flashy toys, he’s about tradition.

“I think he’ll be a really good fit for the Fighting Irish.”