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Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Notre Dame DL Coach Mike Elston Making An Impression On 2020 DE Braiden McGregor

May 15, 2018
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Life has changed quite a bit over the last month for 2020 Port Huron (Mich.) defensive end Braiden McGregor‍. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder is up to nine offers, including Notre Dame, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue. 

“It’s been pretty crazy,” McGregor told Irish Sports Daily. “I feel like I have been busy every weekend for the past two months. I can’t complain about it at all. It’s really fun to go to the different colleges and meet with the coaches to see what they have to offer.

One of McGregor’s recent visits was to Ann Arbor. It was a big trip for the Michigan native as he grew up watching the Wolverines. 

“It was a pretty good visit,” said McGregor. “It wasn’t as personal as Notre Dame. I was the only person at Notre Dame, and I kind of got first class treatment being driven around in a golf cart. 

“There were 15 other kids at Michigan with me, so it was a mini Junior Day. They let us all try on the jersey and take pictures. It was a good visit. I had a good talk with Coach (Jim) Harbaugh, but it wasn’t as personable as my trip to Notre Dame.” 

The chance with Harbaugh was definitely one of the highlights of the visit and McGregor saw the head coach in a different light after the conversation. 

“I was surprised because he was pretty calm,” McGregor explained. “We had a 45-minute conversation in his office. We talked about football, hockey, my family and everything in between.” 

Another school to keep an eye on for a future offer is Wisconsin. The Badgers have stopped by Port Huron a few times this spring in hopes of getting McGregor on campus. 

“Wisconsin has come to my school twice and talked to my coach,” stated McGregor. “They are trying to get me to visit, but we’ll see how that goes. It’s kind of a hike to get over there.” 

Notre Dame continues to be in a good spot as defensive line coach Mike Elston has really connected with McGregor over the last month. 

“I have a pretty good relationship with Coach Elston,” McGregor said. “I’ve called him four or five times since my visit. We’ve had nice 15-minute phone conversations, and I plan on going down there for camp.

“I’m definitely going to get back for a game or two.” 

The conversations with Elston are focused on building a relationship, and McGregor has appreciated the honesty, but he was also impressed to see Elston’s actions speak louder than words recently. 

“Our conversations are about figuring each other out right now,” explained McGregor. “We had a good conversation the other day about how close the Notre Dame family is. He explained how he went to Hawaii for Kona Schwenke’s funeral. 

"When he was talking to me about it, he was saying how it was hard to miss something like that for family. He had to miss his daughter’s first communion to go, but he felt like it was the right thing to do.

“Knowing he cares that much about you and you’ll have that good of a relationship with a coach is just crazy.” 

 
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