2023 Rivals100 RB Sedrick Irvin Jr. commits to Notre Dame football
Notre Dame landed a new commitment in the 2023 class on Wednesday morning when Miami Gulliver Prep running back Sedrick Irvin Jr. announced his pledge to the Fighting Irish.
Academics played a key role as Notre Dame and Stanford were his final two choices. His visit to South Bend over the summer and a strong relationship with the Irish staff helped Notre Dame land Irvin’s early pledge.
“It’s always been one of my favorite schools, and then getting a chance to get up there, visit the staff and meet Coach [Brian] Kelly and Coach [Lance] Taylor — I knew those were people I wanted to surround myself with,” Irvin told BlueandGold.com about choosing Notre Dame. “They’re recruiting guys like me to be part of a brotherhood — one that I can enjoy and grow in. They’re big on the type of people they recruit.
“The combination of the tradition in both academics and football is unmatched.”
“They obviously have a great tradition on the offensive line. There’s no running back that wouldn’t want to run behind those guys.”
Irvin visited Florida State when the Seminoles hosted Notre Dame, and it was two days after that contest that he called Irish head coach Brian Kelly and running backs Lance Taylor to inform them of his decision.
“The relationship with Coach Taylor is great,” Irvin said. “Even before I went there in June to meet him, I knew he was a great guy. I can see myself learning from him, and he takes his job very seriously. He’s there for his players.”
Irvin had scholarship offers from the “big three” schools in Florida. He had Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide on his offer sheet. However, he decided to leave the South in what is a surprising move to most, but don’t tell that to Irvin.
The 5-10, 183-pounder is actually from Maryland and didn’t move to Florida until he was 9 years old. Additionally, his father, Sedrick Irvin Sr., made a similar move, leaving the Sunshine State for Michigan State when he was a recruit in the 1996 class.
The elder Irvin was a first-team USA Today All-American as a prep and went on to rush for 3,504 yards and accounted for 41 touchdowns during his career with the Spartans. He is No. 5 on Michigan State’s all-time rushing yardage list and No. 4 in rushing touchdowns.
Irvin welcomes the opportunity — just like his father before him — to play college football in the Midwest.
“After they offered me, they were one of the schools that recruited me the hardest,” Irvin said. “It was them, Michigan State and Stanford after me the hardest. I’ve always wanted to get out of Florida for college. I grew up in Maryland. Notre Dame has it all for me.”
Irvin — who Rivals rates as the No. 14 prospect in Florida, and the No. 4 running back and No. 81 overall player nationally — has had numerous conversations with Taylor and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees about his fit in their offense.
“Coach Rees was showing me how he uses his running backs to the best of their ability,” Irvin said. “I feel like I can do it all. I can run in between the tackles, and I can line up at receiver. I feel that I can fit in that offense.
“Anywhere they put me on the field, I can succeed there.”
Irvin is making a very early pledge to Notre Dame, but he told BlueandGold.com that he plans to be locked in with his commitment. He’ll make his second visit to campus soon.
“I’m focused on Notre Dame. I’ll be there for the USC game.”
The elder Irvin is a cousin of NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin. He was an intern on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff from 2008-09 with Lance Taylor and also coached at Memphis (2010-11) and Eastern Carolina (2016). He has been a high school head coach at Gulliver Prep (2006-08, 2019-current), Westminster Christian (2011-16), Miami Senior (2016-17) and Miami Southridge (2018-19).
Through three games as a junior, Irvin has rushed 50 times for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He’s added three receptions for 38 yards. In 19 career games, Irvin has 186 carries for 1,256 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Notre Dame offered Irvin a scholarship on Nov. 3, 2020. It also offered Irvin’s teammate, class of 2023 wide receiver Jalen Brown, that same day. Like Irvin, Brown also visited Notre Dame over the summer. He also is considering the Fighting Irish.
Irvin, who was named to the FloridaHSFootball.com 2020 class 4A Florida all-state second-team offense, committed to Notre Dame over Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee.
He interned at Holland & Knight, a law firm with offices all over the world, over the summer.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.