Florida CB Joe Wilkins Jr. Previews Notre Dame Official Visit
Notre Dame will host three-star North Fort Myers (Fla.) High cornerback Joe Wilkins Jr. on an official visit this weekend, and the Florida talent couldn’t be more excited about the trip.
This will be the first official visit for Wilkins, who has Notre Dame at the top of his list heading into the weekend.
"I would say they’re my No. 1 school right now, and I’m really looking forward to this visit," explained Wilkins.
Wilkins, who picked up an offer from Notre Dame in the spring, said one big factor makes the Irish stand out among the crowd.
“The degree from Notre Dame is top of the line,” he said. “There’s no other college really that comes close to a degree like that school.”
Though he plays both ways for North Fort Myers, Wilkins is being recruited as a cornerback by Notre Dame. He has been communicating with several coaches, including head coach Brian Kelly.
“Coach Kelly has been DM-ing me and stuff on Twitter,” Wilkins said. “He’s been sending some graphics and telling me he’s really excited about me and really excited to have me up for my official.”
Hearing from the head man, Wilkins said, is special.
“It’s awesome,” he noted. “I talk to a lot of position coaches and recruiting coordinators at a lot of schools, but when the head coach reaches out, that’s pretty big.”
Wilkins is also communicating a lot with defensive backs coach Todd Lyght and is looking forward to meeting with him over the weekend.
“I was just talking with him the other day,” Wilkins said. “He said he’s really excited for me to get up there.”
Wilkins has several things he’ll be looking for during the visit, but the most important factor may be whether or not he sees an academic fit in South Bend.
The three-star knows exactly what he wants to do after football ends and wants to make sure Notre Dame offers him that opportunity.
“I know a degree from them is outstanding, but I want to get into medicine,” Wilkins said. “I haven’t done real thorough investigations on their medical program, so hopefully they’ll tell me something good about it. That’s what I plan on pursuing.”
Beyond that, Wilkins said he just wants to see if Notre Dame is a place he could spend the next four years of his life.
“Hopefully it feels like home,” Wilkins said. “Hopefully, I just get some crazy feeling that makes me know that’s where I want to go.”
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD,
@BGI_DMcKinney and @BGI_CoreyBodden.
• Like us on Facebook.