2019 DE Aeneas DiCosmo Excited To Experience Notre Dame
2019 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) defensive end Aeneas DiCosmo has had a big offseason when it comes to football. The 6-foot-3, 217-pounder has taken multiple college visits, but the highlight was earning an invite to Nike’s The Opening in Dallas.
“It’s been awesome,” DiCosmo told Irish Sports Daily. “I’m happy to be part of The Opening and excited to compete at the end of June.
“It’s going to be great competing against some of the best high school players in the nation. It will be somewhat like the atmosphere in college will be like, so I’m excited to be part of it.”
DiCosmo took a two-day unofficial visit to Stanford in May, and this weekend, the three-star prospect will be at Notre Dame for an official visit. The New Jersey native visited Notre Dame for Irish Invasion a year ago, but this weekend will mark the first time he will see he program as a recruit.
“I’m looking forward to talking with Coach (Mike) Elston and Coach (Clark) Lea,” stated DiCosmo. “I want to get more information on the position and how I would be playing the position.
“I’m also excited to get around the other recruits and players. That will be a big part of the experience. I don’t know which player I’ll be shadowing, but I’m looking forward to that as well.”
DiCosmo played against the Jayson Ademilola and Justin Ademilola during the season in a heated rivalry, but the twins have been in his ear lately about continuing the New Jersey pipeline to Notre Dame.
The Bergen Catholic star is well-aware of the Jersey talent on Notre Dame’s roster, and it’s an exciting bonus in DiCosmo’s eyes.
“It goes to show they have a good presence in my area and kids want to play there, and they actually succeed,” said DiCosmo. “The quarterback played for St. Peter’s Prep and went to Notre Dame. He’s doing well.”
The twins haven’t been the only one in his ear as Elston has ramped up the contact in the past few months, and DiCosmo is looking forward to spending time with him this weekend.
“We have been talking and texting a lot over the past few weeks,” DiCosmo said. “It’s definitely a good relationship right now. It will be to sit down and talk with him more this weekend.”
Notre Dame isn’t the only school pushing hard for a commitment from DiCosmo as Michigan and Stanford have also continued constant communication with him.
“At this point, I’m in a lot of contact with three schools,” explained DiCosmo. “I’d say I talk pretty evenly between Chris Partridge at Michigan, Coach (Peter) Hansen at Stanford and Coach Elston. I talk to at least one of them every day.”
Stanford might have the most intriguing recruiting pitch as the Cardinal see’s DiCosmo playing inside linebacker, while Michigan and Notre Dame view him as an edge player.
“It was shocking at the time because I didn’t understand why they said it,” said DiCosmo. “I had never really seen myself playing linebacker. I pictured an inside linebacker from a 4-3, but playing an inside linebacker in a 3-4 is much different.
“I know it will be a big learning curve but I know I can adapt to it. It started to make sense why they are recruiting me there after they explained it. They plan on teaching me the inside and outside positions, so I have an understanding of what everyone is doing on the field.”
However, the most significant factor for DiCosmo won’t deal with positions. DiCosmo will be looking very carefully at where Notre Dame can set itself apart from Michigan and Stanford academically.
“I’m going to be looking at the Business program,” stated DiCosmo. “Notre Dame has a great undergrad program. I’m also looking at International Relations. I know what it’s like at Stanford, but I’m not sure what it’s like at Notre Dame, so I’m looking forward to learning more about that.”
DiCosmo will likely take his final visit next week to Michigan, and then he’ll turn his focus to The Opening.
A commitment date is looming, but DiCosmo admits he hasn’t circled a date just yet.
“A lot is going on right now,” said DiCosmo. “I’m not able to commit to an exact date yet.”