The NCAA recently extended the recruiting dead period through the rest of the year, which doesn’t allow any in-person contact between college coaches and prospective student athletes. This hurts prospects in the 2021 class the most, but it certainly plays a role for 2022 recruits as well.
Many pundits are predicting Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic class of 2022 quarterback Steven Angeli to land at Notre Dame, but he has yet to visit South Bend. He’s considering taking a drive to Indiana this fall to check out campus and walk around on his own, but he wouldn’t be able to meet the coaching staff.
Notre Dame isn’t the only school he wants to go see before making a decision as well. With this in mind, Angeli is taking his time with his recruiting process.
“It’ll definitely be before my senior year,” Angeli said of a commitment timeline, adding that he highly doubts a verbal pledge will occur this calendar year. “I’m really looking to take my visits and find the right place. I want my family to help me decide everything.”
Notre Dame offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees has kept in consistent communication with Angeli since offering him Aug. 17. Most of their contact to this point has been via text messaging.
“It’s funny because I was telling my mom that I was just texting with this guy and now I see him on NBC in the box,” Angeli said with a laugh. “It’s really special to me to see that.”
Angeli recently reshared a post from Chicago Marist class of 2023 wide receiver Carnell Tate on his own Twitter page, which provoked Rees to message to the four-star quarterback about how he knows Tate, considering they live several states apart.
“It was a funny moment where Coach Rees was asking about my relationship with Carnell,” Angeli noted. “I’ve seen his tape, and he’s a great player. Hopefully wherever I go, I can get him to come with me.”
Rees spoke on the phone with Angeli when offering him last month, and their next call was just this past Thursday on a Zoom call. Director of recruiting Aaryn Kearney and director of on-campus recruiting Jasmine Smith were also on the call to provide various information about Notre Dame’s academics to Angeli.
“It went great,” Angeli said. “I learned a lot of new stuff that I didn’t already know about Notre Dame academically and athletically. The stats and stories that they shared really was great for me and my family to see and hear.”
Notre Dame will certainly be a top school under consideration for the long haul in Angeli’s recruitment. Angeli landing the offer made a big impact.
“It definitely boosted my recruitment — put me on a more seriously taken scale with some of the recruiting sites,” Angeli explained. “And I’ve gotten some more attention on the national scale. It was a bit of an eye-opener.”
As a quarterback at a top Catholic school in New Jersey whose family loves Notre Dame — plus the fact that his great uncle played for the Fighting Irish in the 1940s – there is a lot of pull for Angeli to end up siding with Brian Kelly’s program.
“One of my best friend’s family is all Notre Dame,” Angeli added. “A lot of people are in my ear saying, ‘How could you pass up the opportunity to be a quarterback at Notre Dame?’ I’m truly blessed for the opportunity, but I want to take it one step at a time and get out to South Bend and a couple other schools and make the right decision.
“I’ve looked at their quarterback pedigree, how they recruit, the guys they bring in and their pipeline to the NFL. I’ve uncovered more of the greatness Notre Dame has with the people they’ve put in the NFL and players they’ve developed.”
Angeli watched the Irish take down Duke 27-13 in its season opener Sept. 12 and liked what he saw.
“I’ve talked to [Bergen Catholic] Coach Vito [Campanile] about this; their offense would be a great fit for me,” Angeli said. “They do similar stuff to what we do, which is to my liking and wheelhouse.”
Angeli holds 17 offers in total, including the likes of LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State.
“I’m keeping in contact with all of the schools I have offers from,” he said.
After playing in a reserve role in 2019, Angeli will lead a talented Bergen Catholic offense with its season beginning Oct. 3.
“I’m really looking forward to this season and getting out there with my guys,” Angeli stated.
Rivals ranks Angeli as the nation’s No. 12 pro-style quarterback and No. 5 player in New Jersey in the 2022 class.
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