2023 Rivals250 OL Chris Terek flips his commitment to Notre Dame
Notre Dame continues its tear on the recruiting trail.
On Sunday, 2023 class Rivals250 four-star offensive lineman Chris Terek flipped his commitment from Wisconsin to the Irish. The 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive lineman from Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West High announced he's switching his pledge after being committed to Wisconsin since June 29.
Rivals ranks Terek as the No. 220 overall player, No. 21 offensive guard and No. 5 player in Illinois in 2023.
Terek's decision comes on the same day that ESPN first reported Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell would be named Wisconsin head coach.
Terek reports 27 scholarship offers, with the latest being from the Irish on Oct. 19. Notre Dame became involved in his recruitment this fall, hosting him on an unofficial visit for the Stanford game Oct. 15. Before Terek's visit and offer, ND assistant offensive line coach Chris Watt had shown interest on behalf of the Irish by traveling to Illinois to watch Terek play.
Watt also played his high school football at Glenbard West. Terek is high school teammates with Notre Dame 2023 kicker commit Marcello Diomede.
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Although Notre Dame's involvement in Terek's recruitment came around the same time Wisconsin fired head coach Paul Chryst on Oct. 2, Terek only considered the Irish outside his Badgers pledge. Before committing to Wisconsin on June 29, Terek officially visited Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.
"I don't care about any other schools that aren't Wisconsin or Notre Dame," Terek told Inside ND Sports last month. "Notre Dame, they've got a pretty crazy track record. They do very well with their O-linemen. (Offensive line) coach (Harry) Hiestand is awesome. And they seem like they're really building something there."
The Irish zeroed in on the No.3 offensive lineman in Illinois after four-star offensive lineman Elijah Paige backed off his Notre Dame pledge on Sept. 22. The Phoenix Pinnacle product later flipped to USC on Oct. 3.
Even with Paige's decommitment, Hiestand has put together an outstanding offensive line class in his return to Notre Dame for a second tour of duty. The Irish offensive line coach was previously at ND from 2012-17.
Terek joins an already talented 2023 offensive line class that includes four-stars Sullivan Absher, Charles Jagusah, Sam Pendleton and three-star Joe Otting. Notre Dame's class is now up to 25 total commits.
"It's a very good catch," Prep Football Report analyst Tom Lemming said. "He'll be an interior guy — a guard or a center — but he is very good. He's athletic and has a good build. He's a dominant run blocker."
If Jagusah, Pendleton and Terek all increase or maintain their status within the Rivals250, it will mark the second consecutive time the Irish have signed three Rivals250 offensive linemen in a single recruiting class. Prior to 2022, they also did it six times before: in 2019, 2017, 2014, 2013, 2008 and 2006.
When Jagusah and Terek put pen to paper with Notre Dame during the early signing window from Dec. 21-23, it will mark the first time the Irish have inked two offensive linemen from Illinois in the Rivals era (2009). The last offensive lineman the Irish signed from the state was Chicago Marist High product Pat Coogan in 2022.
Notre Dame maintains its standing as the Rivals No. 2 recruiting class in the 2023 cycle, behind only Alabama.
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