Talented 2020 Safety Craig McDonald Previews Upcoming Notre Dame Trip
Notre Dame has been pretty active recruiting the Class of 2020 at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis.
The result will be three of the top junior prospects in Minnesota heading to South Bend for the Irish’s home finale against Florida State on Nov. 10th.
Safety Craig McDonald will join linebacker Kaden Johnson and quarterback Jalen Suggs, who is also an elite basketball practice, at Notre Dame.
“We’ve been getting the recruiting mail from Notre Dame and they sent us a game invite,” McDonald explained. “That was one we liked and had time for, so we decided to go to that one.
“Their football team is obviously super good. I know the atmosphere of their games is good just from what I’ve seen on TV. They’ve got a super strong culture. Their academics are really good, my mom especially likes the academics at Notre Dame.”
The contact from the Irish has been mostly through the mail so far, but McDonald is looking forward to taking the next step during the visit.
“I want to see the facilities for sure,” he said. “I also just want to see the atmosphere at the game, but the facilities and meeting the coaches, including the position coach.”
McDonald, a 6-foot-2 defensive back who is about 180 pounds, has been clocked as low as 4.43 in the 40-yard dash. He already has offers from Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State and Purdue.
“It feels good to know I’m on the radar pretty early,” he said. “It also gives me motivation to keep working hard and playing hard.”
In addition to Notre Dame, he’s also receiving interest from Michigan State, Stanford, Wisconsin and Northwestern.
“They like my physicality, I can tackle and I can run too,” he said.
Education will be one crucial factor in the final decision for McDonald, who wants to study Architecture and/or Construction Management in college.
“Academics and how that degree would help me and how they would help me get it and then the success of the team and how the coaches treat the players. And I would like to play early.”