2020 OL Michael Carmody Gets A Different Look At Notre Dame

The Carmody family has been to Notre Dame enough by now where they should probably be giving campus tours instead of getting them.

But late last week, the family was again touring campus, this time with Michael Carmody‍.

With his brother, Robby, a member of the Irish basketball squad, the 2020 Pennsylvania offensive lineman has been on campus dozens of times, but this was his first time back since receiving an offer from Notre Dame last month.

“It was great,” Carmody’s father, Rob, told Irish Sports Daily. “We had a great time.”

Mr. Carmody noted the familiarity makes Notre Dame a unique suitor for his son, who also has offers from schools like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Texas A&M among many others.

“He’s been there so often, he’s got an insider’s view of it,” said Mr. Carmody. “Getting the opportunity to spend time with the coaches, particularly Coach (Jeff) Quinn and Mike getting to spend time with the players was really great for him and gave him the kind of perspective he needs to help with this decision.”

The Carmodys made time to check in with the basketball staff as well, specifically Ryan Ayers and Ryan Humphrey.

“That staff is just a staff of great men who we’re blessed our child gets to learn from and be around,” Mr. Carmody said of Mike Brey’s staff. “The opportunity to learn and grow, not just as a student, not just as an athlete, but most importantly as a man is very important to us.

“Those guys have made that transition for Robby very special. They’re just super people.”

After visiting this past week, Mr. Carmody said he “absolutely” believes that is indicative of the culture as a whole at Notre Dame.

“Coach Quinn is really, really impressive,” he said. “He’s a guy who is just a straight-shooter. It’s kind of an old-fashioned term, but what he feels, he’s going to be honest and upfront with you. Coach (Brian) Polian was really terrific in our time with him.

“We appreciate that. We want honesty. We don’t want the bells and whistles. Sometimes the bright, shiny things that are pretty distract you from what’s going on. One of the things my wife and I enjoy about Notre Dame is there are all of those bright, shiny, pretty things, but there’s a substance behind it. For us, it starts with the people.”

The academic side is another part of Notre Dame the Carmodys are well-versed in, but it was still good for Michael to see how it would work for him.

“It’s a place where Michael is going to have the opportunity to pursue the degree that he wants (Engineering),” his father said.

One thing that Mr. Carmody and his wife, Stephanie, noticed about Notre Dame is that there’s never been any talk about making sure Michael remained academically eligible.

“It’s not about keeping him eligible, it’s about achieving at a high level academically at Notre Dame,” he said. “Again, for my wife and I, that really strikes an important chord, maybe not for a 17-year-old, but for us, that’s a huge thing.

“We’ve been places where they say, ‘Hey, all of our guys are eligible.’ I don’t know that that’s impressive. I think what’s impressive is having guys achieve things and do things.”

Drue Tranquill was held up as a model of somebody who earned his Engineering degree and stood out on the field enough to get drafted while also getting married and having a child during his stint at Notre Dame.

“Wow!” Mr. Carmody said. “Again, that’s stuff that is really neat to see. It’s not somebody talking about it, there’s an actual example to look at. ‘Hey Mike, look. Here it is.’

“It was a really nice visit for us as a family. It was great for Mike. The most important part for him was to spend time with Coach Quinn and those players. It was great.”

Carmody has already taken an official visit to Texas A&M and has one scheduled for Ohio State for June 21st, but there’s still a chance he decides to find a date to return to Notre Dame for an official.

That isn’t something that’s been seriously discussed yet since this visit, though.

“We like to have Mike step away from things after he’s there and really process it,” his father said “He might have another question he’ll ask us or when he talks to Coach Quinn again or another one of the players. We don’t want him to feel like, ‘Hey, you were just there, what do you think?’

“Of course, everything is great while you’re there, but you’ve got to step away from it and process it.”

There’s no concrete timetable for a final decision either.

“In his head, he still wants to have this done sooner rather than later, but again, when you’re 17 years old, ‘sooner’ can mean a lot of things,” his father said. “We’re just going to continue to support Mike, answer questions and talk with him and pray with him about it. When he decides where he wants to go and how he wants to handle it from there, we’ll be behind him 100 percent.

“We try not to put any of our personal feelings into it or biases. We just try to tell him, ‘Hey, this is how we feel about this. This is how we feel about that,’ and have a great discussion. Again, hopefully we’re giving him the kind of advice that helps him make a decision that’s best for him for the next four years of his life. That’s kind of what we’re tasked with as parents. It’s a responsibility we really take seriously and try to make sure we’re doing the right thing by Mike.”