2019 LB David Gbenda Doing Research On Notre Dame

2019 Cinco Ranch (Texas) David Gbenda‍ has built an impressive offer list over the past few months, and the four-star prospect narrowed his recruitment down to 10 programs on Sunday. 

Notre Dame, Houston, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington will battle it out for the 6-foot, 215-pounder over the next few months. 

“It is kind of a relief,” Gbenda told Irish Sports Daily. “It’s a little weird to be down to 10 schools.”

Notre Dame offered the Texas native in mid-May and immediately got into the race as Gbenda was aware of the academic opportunities in South Bend. 

Gbenda has since done his research on the football side of things, and the Irish defense is one he can see himself playing in. 

“I feel comfortable with their defensive system,” Gbenda stated. “I have been watching some old games, and I really like what they do with their linebackers. I also like the school itself and the programs they have in place. I like how Notre Dame highly values education, and they aren’t in a specific conference.” 

When he watches games, Gbenda is looking for an aggressive defense and how many plays the linebackers make. 

“I’m looking at the types of blitzes and the number of plays they make,” explained Gbenda. “I listen to the announcers really talk about them, and I pay attention to the success of the defense. I really see how the defense does. I try to watch a couple of games to get a feel for each defense.” 

The final 10 schools for Gbenda run a variety of defenses, but the offenses they will face is something the Cinco Ranch standout is also keeping in the back of his mind. For example, the Big 12 and Pac 12 school might be a little more pass heavy, while other schools might face more run heavy programs on a yearly basis. 

“It is kind of factoring into my decision, but I’m looking for a coaching staff that can prepare me to adapt to each scheme,” said Gbenda. “I’m not going to cop out on a school because they play more of this offense or that offense. I’m paying attention to it and I’m not completely ignoring it, but I’m hoping the school I choose can help me better prepare to face any scheme.” 

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea has remained in contact and Gbenda is getting a feel of what he’d be asked to do if he chose the Irish, but he’s also getting to know Lea's personality.  

“I could tell from the first time we had an interaction on the phone,” Gbenda said of Lea’s laid back personality. “He knows what he is doing, and you can tell from the way he talks.

“We talk about where he see’s me playing and what he wants me to do.” 

When it comes to a decision, Gbenda admitted he is speeding things up as the recruiting process is tiring, but he’s also not rushing it. The next step will be figuring out his five official visits, and he’s not sure when those will happen just yet. 

“I don’t necessarily know about my official visits because I just narrowed it down to 10 schools,” said Gbenda. “I’m just going to wait on that to see how things go.”