Coach: 2020 WR John Humphreys Will "Definitely" Visit Notre Dame

When John Humphreys‍ completes his high school career, there will be plenty of ways to measure the impact of the 2020 California wide receiver.

“John Humphreys will leave Corona Del Mar High School as the single best football player to ever come out of here,” Corona Del Mar head coach Dan O’Shea says firmly.

“He will leave Orange County itself as the single most prolific wide receiver in the history of the county; touchdowns, receptions, etc. That’s quite a statement with the level of many schools here in Orange County.

“But that’s not what makes him unique and special.”

No, it’s the things that can’t be measured that O’Shea will look back on most.

“He has a unique appetite for competition,” O’Shea says.

The coach remembers how badly Humphreys was looking forward to camping at USC last summer.

“He wanted to go compete against the best kids he could find,” he says. “He really loves that kind of stuff.

“He could not wait to go compete there. He left the camp as the number one wide receiver and they offered him about three seconds later.”

O’Shea calls Humphrey’s work ethic “ridiculous” and says his leadership is unprecedented.

“He works out in the morning, he’s in the weight room after school,” the coach explains. “He’s the first sophomore I’ve ever had in my 25 years of coaching of football who has been a captain of our team. That’s what he was last year as a sophomore and again this year as a junior.

“The last thing is he’s diligent as a student. He’s tremendous academically. He’s inquisitive, articulate, well-spoken, great family. He’s like the poster child of what a student-athlete should be.”

Yet, he’s not all that unique within his own house, not with parents and three siblings, who have all played collegiate sports, including his brother, Ben Humphreys, a multi-year starter at linebacker for Duke who is currently up for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

“It all comes from the very special genes the Humphrey kids have,” O’Shea says. “The father was a big-time safety at Stanford. Mom was a big-time volleyball player at Stanford.

“The oldest daughter went to Stanford on a volleyball scholarship. The other daughter is currently on scholarship at USC for volleyball. The brother is at Duke and John obviously has a few opportunities. You’re talking about four kids who are all playing at the highest level of their sports at some of the most incredible schools in the country and the parents haven’t had to pay a dime of tuition.”

Humphrey’s options grew a bit last week, when Notre Dame extended an offer.

“John was incredibly thrilled and honored to receive the offer,” his coach says. “That’s about as special as it gets at least in high school athletics.”

He also has offers from Stanford, Duke, Cal, USC, Washington, Oregon and Yale among others.

At 6-5 and 210 pounds, O’Shea compares Humphrey’s frame to that of current Irish wideout Miles Boykin.

“These long, tall guys down the field just give a different element of being able to make some plays that some other guys can’t,” the coach says. “He’s a matchup nightmare for your traditional defensive backs due to his size. Secondly, he’s one of the best basketball players in Orange County. He has the natural timing jumping and tracking the ball that you kind of see with basketball guys going up for a rebound.”

The family ties at Stanford are impossible to ignore, but there’s a legitimate amount of intrigue in Notre Dame, according to his coach.

“It’ll definitely be one of his five visits, I am sure,” O’Shea says. “Notre Dame was frankly probably the only offer he was anxiously hoping for on top of the USC, Washington and Stanford offers.”

O’Shea imagines Humphrey will try to get his recruiting process wrapped up sometime next summer.

“Similar to a lot of kids, they like to make their decision in the summer after getting around and poking around. He’s already taken several visits to USC, Stanford, Cal and Washington because they’re close. He was supposed to come out to Notre Dame last spring, but it was the same week as Finals, so he’s looking forward to going out there this winter.”