Recruiting Week In Review
Written by Joe Bradshaw
Unofficial visits can be a rather simple proposition for those that live within relatively short driving distance of the school. That’s a huge advantage for schools in talent-rich states like Florida, Texas and California among others. For Notre Dame though, that’s more problematic. Indiana does produce some FBS talent every year as does the Chicago area of Illinois. However, the numbers pale in comparison to the aforementioned areas. When recruits come to South Bend unofficially it typically involves plane tickets, hotel bills and dining expenses. As anyone who has traveled knows, those costs can add up rapidly so anyone visiting Notre Dame on his own dime must be genuinely interested.
Last week, the Irish hosted two Class of 2020 recruits that traveled from the West Coast to visit the school. Undoubtedly that reflects a high level of interest and Notre Dame didn’t disappoint. Irish Sports Daily reported on both prospects time spent in South Bend. What have you been missing by not being a member of Irish Sports Daily?
Notre Dame evaluated Dirk Nelson, OL, 6-3, 280, Central Valley Christian High School, Visalia, CA in May and were impressed enough with him to extend an invitation to visit the university. Nelson wasted no time in taking the Irish up on the offer, coming to campus the first day after the quiet period ended. He talked about why he made the trip.
“It always helps somebody’s recruiting stock when you can, so we came,” he explained. “It felt worth it to me. They treated me pretty well and it was a great culture. I loved the football program obviously.”
Nelson spent most of his time with his area recruiter, Special Teams Coach Brian Polian and his position coach Jeff Quinn.
“I got to talk to the O-Line coach for a while, Coach Quinn,” he shared. “Then we toured the school for a while. We went into the stadium and did a photo shoot and talked to the academic advisor. Basically, we just had an all-around day.”
As has been the case with most recruits, Nelson was very impressed by Quinn.
“I love his energy and his enthusiasm,” he said. “He seems like a great coach and a great guy.”
So far, Nelson holds offers from Oregon and San Jose State. The Irish want to watch him this fall before making a decision.
“They basically said that I need to go and have a great year, which I think I will,” he said. “Then, they’ll see from there. They said they’ll start contacting me when it’s legal to really start building that relationship with me.”
College coaches can begin contacting 2020 recruits September 1st. Nelson also has plans to visit Northwestern and camp at Kansas State. As he nears a decision he knows what factors will drive his final choice.
“Definitely, academics, because I’m a high academic person,” he said. “I love football culture and the culture of the school in general. Those are the biggest deals and then basically just the way I feel at that school.”
Like Nelson, Geirean Hatchett, OL, 6-5, 265, Ferndale High School, Ferndale, WA showed up in South Bend as soon as it was allowed. In fact, he actually showed up a day early and had to wait to meet with the Notre Dame staff. One coach that he definitely wanted to speak with was his area recruiter Defensive Backs Coach Todd Lyght.
“I’ve been in contact with Coach Lyght a lot,” Hatchett reported. “We’ve been talking and finally got this visit set up. Obviously it appeals to me because of their tradition and how good they’ve been at football and their academics too.”
Lyght has been pitching to Hatchett his version of the forty year decision.
“He just basically tells me what they can get done for me on the field and in the classroom and off the field and all of that,” he shared. “He just lays it out how it really is for me. I like that a lot.”
Hatchett wanted to see as much of the university and the football program as possible during his visit.
“Obviously, all of the football facilities, the area around campus and campus itself, that’s important to me,” he said. “Just to get a feel for it if I did go there, where I would be spending my time and all of that.”
In addition to Notre Dame, Hatchett has offers from USC, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State and others. The fact that he showed up on Notre Dame’s doorstep as soon as the quiet period ended means something, a point that the four-star recruit did nothing to refute.
“I’m definitely very interested in Notre Dame,” he said. “They have such good tradition and their academics. It’s definitely a top school, that’s for sure.”
While he’s in the Midwest, Hatchett also plans to visit Ohio State and Michigan. Beside that he has nothing else scheduled except the start of his football season in the middle of August.
These two summaries represent just a sample of the Notre Dame football recruiting information available each week on Irish Sports Daily.