Notre Dame Offer "Exciting Moment" For Elite 2022 ATH Jaeden Gould

A successful and efficient recruiting cycle in 2019 led to Notre Dame getting ahead in recruiting 2020 prospects and even getting started early on 2021 targets.

That acceleration hasn’t quite trickled down to the Class of 2022 yet, but the Irish have already singled out one current high school freshman they feel is worthy of a scholarship offer.

Two weeks ago, Notre Dame extended that offer to 2022 New Jersey athlete Jaeden Gould‍.

“My coach told me the day before that there might be something,” the 6-foot-2, 190-pound freshman explained. “He said they were really interested, liked my film and felt I’d be a good fit for their program.”

Gould received the news of the offer a day later.

“I was just excited because Notre Dame is such a historic school,” he said. “Anybody who goes there is set for life no matter if it’s playing football or outside of football, so it was an exciting moment for me.”

Gould could play a number of positions, including each of the spots in the defensive secondary.

“They just said I was a well-rounded kid,” he said of Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea and safeties coach Terry Joseph. “They liked my film. They felt like I fit the program with my work ethic and everything I do on and off the field in the classroom and everything like that.”

He doesn’t know a ton about Notre Dame yet, but what he does know, he likes.

“I know players,” Gould explained. “They had Jerome Bettis, Harrison Smith, Justin Tuck, those types of people. They just carry a tradition of sending players to the NFL.”

The Bergen Catholic High School star said he will get to South Bend at some point.

“Definitely,” he said. “I like their culture and everything about them. I definitely have to get out there sooner than later.”

The youngster also has early offers from Rutgers, Boston College, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M.

“It’s just a blessing,” he said of the opportunities. “I try to stay as humble as possible because I know I’m not where I want to be yet, so I have to keep working.”

Gould commutes over an hour each way to get to Bergen Catholic every day, but says it’s well worth it.

“It’s just a special place,” he said. “I’ve wanted to go there since I visited last year. I knew. Everything about the place, the school, the football program, everything. I feel like it prepares me for the next level going to college in the classroom and on the field as well.”

He’ll be looking for a similar school and program when choosing a college.

“Definitely the school. It’s basically about relationships, but college coaches are changing all of the time, so I’m trying to focus on a school that I like with a lot of tradition, a good fit for me. It’s not just about the name. It’s about getting there, playing, getting on the field and hopefully getting to the next level.”