2020 Four-Star OL Reece Atteberry Goes In-Depth On Visit To Notre Dame

This weekend’s visit to Notre Dame was an important one for 2020 Eaglecrest (Colo.) offensive lineman Reece Atteberry‍, but also the Irish staff. It was the first time the four-star prospect visited campus and the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder cutting his list this month, it was crucial for Notre Dame to make a positive impression. 

“It was great,” stated Atteberry. “It was everything you could expect from a place with notorious tradition. It was a good time.” 

Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn spent a ton of time with Atteberry and his message was the same as what the Colorado native got from everyone around Notre Dame. 

“He’s a really real guy and that’s the one thing you can take away from the whole University,” explained Atteberry. “It's up front and it’s like ‘This is what we do and how we do it. If you don’t like it, then better luck somewhere else.’

“This whole process is so long and it will save time doing it like this.” 

The Eaglecrest star also was able to speak with Brian Kelly, Chip Long and area recruiter Todd Lyght. 

Atteberry was impressed with his time around Kelly as he could tell the head coach had a passion for Notre Dame. 

“It was really upfront about who they are,” Atteberry said of his conversation with Kelly. “He’s as established as any head coach in the country. He’s very, very good at what he does. He’s very proud of this University and being part of it. He made that very clear.” 

Perhaps the most significant part of the visit for Atteberry was the time he was able to spend with Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey and a few of the early enrollees on the offensive line.

In fact, Atteberry was able to experience the brotherhood of the offensive line as he made an error during a meal. 

“I made a mistake at one of the meals sitting by myself,” laughed Atteberry. “They were like ‘What are you doing?’ They always move together. They breathe together and block together.” 

Getting to experience the closeness of the offensive line made a significant impact on Atteberry as the unit holds many of the same values and goals as he does.

“For me, that’s why I play the game,” explained Atteberry. “I use it to build relationships with people and to get myself somewhere. They talked about using football and letting football use you. It was very special because everyone said the right things. 

“I love the relationships with football, so it was a very big piece for me.” 

Ohio State was the team to beat entering the weekend and Notre Dame made up a ton of ground on the Buckeyes, a program Atteberry will visit again at the end of March.

“They are very established through tradition,” Atteberry said of both programs. “The cities are very different. The cultures are fairly the same. The coaching styles between Coach Stud and Coach Quinn similar. The demeanor of how they do things is a little different. Everyone has priorities and put a few things ahead of others.” 

When it comes to a decision, Atteberry is in the process of narrowing things down and isn’t in a hurry to make a commitment, but has an idea of when he would like to have things wrapped up.

I’m going to take my time,” Atteberry explained. “Ideally, before the season would be perfect, so I’m just playing football. At the end of this month, I’ll narrow it down to eight and from there, it will be whenever it feels right. I might narrow it down to five internally or publicly and then take my officials.” 

As for Notre Dame, the Irish put themselves in a great position to get an official visit, which will lead to another chance to impress Atteberry and his family. 

“For an official visit, Notre Dame has a very good shot at making the top five,” said Atteberry. “It’s a unique place. You could come back five times and not see everything until you’re here.”