2020 DE Deontae Craig Talks Notre Dame Offer, What's Next
Playing basketball certainly helps football prospects on the field like Deontae Craig.
“It helps with football with my coordination and footwork and stuff,” the 2020 Indiana defensive end said.
It’s also helped with his profile as a football recruit and was part of the evaluation that led Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston to extending a scholarship offer to the 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior.
“He said they’d been watching more film of me and seeing me playing basketball,” Craig said.
“It’s pretty cool to hear basketball is helping me out with football.”
The Culver Academies standout was excited to add the Irish to a list of offers that also includes Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, Northwestern, Tennessee and Cincinnati among others.
“I take it the same as each school that I’m looking toward and give them each an opportunity,” he said of the offer.
“Notre Dame reminds me a lot of Culver, the school that I’m at now. They keep you on track religiously, academically and athletically. I’ve been up there a few times, so I have a feel what the place is like for gameday and stuff like that.”
Craig’s basketball team plays one of the most difficult schedules in the state and is in the race for a state championship on annual basis. The postseason begins Tuesday night, so that’s his focus now, but he does plan on returning to South Bend relatively soon.
“After basketball season, I’m going to try to get back for a spring practice to sit down with the coaches and see how the players work and how they coach,” he said.
In addition to South Bend, Craig is looking into visits to places like Ohio State and Iowa as well.
The Notre Dame men’s basketball team has offered Craig’s teammate, Trey Galloway.
“We’ve been going to Culver since the fourth grade, so we’ve been pretty close,” Craig said of himself and the top Irish basketball target.
The idea of attending college with Galloway is appealing, but won’t be a deciding factor.
“It’d be pretty cool, growing up together and then going after to college together,” said Craig. “We’ll see how that all works out, but we’ve talked about it before.”
He hasn’t thought about a potential decision timetable yet.
“I’ve just been trying to focus on basketball season right now and my senior football season,” he said. “As of right now, I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
He does have an idea of the most important factors in his decision.
“Obviously, it’s going to be academics. A degree is something that can’t be taken from you. Football can be taken from you with an injury or something like that, so I want to go somewhere to major in something I like and can continue after football. Secondly, it’ll be the relationships I build along the way, where I fit in the best and wherever I can call home.”