2021 WR Walker Merrill Enjoys Weekend In South Bend
The Notre Dame coaching staff is definitely familiar with the Brentwood (Tenn.) High football team.
In the class of 2017, the Irish signed three-star offensive lineman Cole Mabry out of Brentwood, and this weekend hosted Walker Merrill, a standout 2021 wide receiver and former teammate of Mabry.
Merrill, a 6-foot-1, 175 pound receiver, said he loved getting his first look at the Irish.
“It was awesome and I loved it,” Merrill said. “The visit was great and it’s a beautiful place.”
On Saturday, Merrill took in his first game in Notre Dame stadium, a hard-fought 19-14 win over visiting Pittsburgh.
The standout Tennessean said the experience of a game day at Notre Dame definitely lived up to his expectations.
“The stadium, I thought it was going to be smaller than that,” Merrill explained. “I liked how it was filled up and I thought the environment was awesome.”
Outside of the game itself, Merrill said he was blown away by the look and feel of Notre Dame’s campus and football facilities.
“We were walking up to the athletics center and it looked like a big church so I was confused, but when we walked in, it was awesome,” Merrill said. “The weight room is big, the locker room is great and it was all awesome.”
As his recruitment continues to pick up steam, Merrill said academics will be one of the biggest factors for him, which obviously gels with the kind of player Notre Dame is looking for.
“I’m definitely looking for academics,” Merrill said. “I know I’m not going to be playing football forever, and I have to look back on something. I also look at the game day situation and how involved the surroundings are.”
Through the first half of his sophomore season, Merrill holds two offers, one from Louisville and one from in-state Vanderbilt.
Now that’s he’s been to South Bend and seen what Notre Dame has to offer up close, the young receiver said he’d be thrilled if the Irish ever enter the mix.
“If they offered me, it would be a humbling experience,” Merrill said. I don’t really care how many offers I get, as long as I’m working hard and it’s paying off. I’m glad for any offer I get.”
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