Irish Offer Should Put Notre Dame In Running For German DE

When Brandon Collier brought five kids from Europe to South Bend, Ind., last week, the founder of PPI noticed the Notre Dame staff was showing a lot of interest in Alexander Ehrensberger‍, a 2020 defensive end from Germany, in particular.

The Irish followed up this week by extending a scholarship offer to Eherensberger.

“Him and Coach Mike Elston, the d-line coach, hit it off pretty well and it all went from there,” said Collier.

After playing defensive line at UMass, Collier spent one year with the Philadelphia Eagles and another in the CFL before heading over to Europe to play. While there, he realized the amount of talent going unnoticed in Europe and eventually started PPI to help coach kids and get them exposure in the United States.

Collier has already helped dozens of prospects land Division-I scholarship offers. Ehrensberger is just one of the most recent.

“When you’ve got a kid who is 6-7, 240 pounds who can bend the way he bends and is athletic the way he is, it’s really a no-brainer,” Collier said of the junior from Dusseldorf. “If you put a kid like that in one of these powerhouse high schools in America, he’s a high-4/5-star recruit with his size, length and athleticism. These kids are going to the Notre Dames and Alabamas of the world. It didn’t shock me that he got an offer from Notre Dame.

“It may have shocked people who don’t know him, but he’s a kid who has great intangibles. He has a 1280 SAT with a 3.3 GPA. He’s a very intelligent kid. He’s a kid who would go there and work. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. He’s very bright.”

Ehrensberger and the other prospects who came over with Collier last week also made stops at UConn, Rutgers, Temple, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

“Notre Dame is a school I could see him playing at with the academic rigors Notre Dame offers and the football on the field,” said Collier. “I would say Notre Dame would definitely be one of his top schools…If he went to Notre Dame, I’d expect him to be a successful player there.

“I would say right now, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State would be three of the other schools that he’s highly, highly interested in at the moment.”

Collier isn’t sure what Ehrensberger’s timetable for a decision looks like. He doesn’t expect him to rush things, but doesn’t see him letting the process play out just for the attention either. 

“He’ll come back this spring and summer before making a decision,” said Collier. “I would say it almost depends on where he gets a feeling. I would say he would make a decision earlier than later. He’s not a kid who really wants to play the recruiting game. He wants to commit to a school and get it over with sooner than later.”