Four-star OL Aamil Wagner updates where he stands with Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s class of 2022 commitments had their world turned upside down when news broke of Brian Kelly leaving his post with the Fighting Irish for LSU.
“I took a break and evaluated what was going on,” said Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne class of 2022 offensive tackle Aamil Wagner.
New Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman signed with Ohio State back in the class of 2004. Current Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens played his college ball with Cincinnati out of the class of 2005.
Freeman and Mickens both attended Wayne High School, and one of their assistant coaches was Roosevelt Mukes Jr., who has been the head coach of the Warriors since 2019.
Those connections are a big reason why Wagner is so solid with the Fighting Irish despite the crazy week.
“I’m all good right now,” he said. “I truly believe in Coach Freeman. I’m very confident in him, especially since he’s from my high school and is someone I know well. There’s a strong tie there.”
Wagner committed to Notre Dame Nov. 11 over Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State. He had a handful of schools reach out to him when the Kelly news broke.
“Other schools definitely have been contacting me, but I haven’t really been responding to anyone,” Wagner explained. “I’ve been focusing on who Notre Dame would be hiring, and I’m glad it was Coach Freeman.”
After the Notre Dame brass informed Freeman that he would be the next Irish head coach, he started contacting his class of 2022 commits to tell them the good news.
“Freeman called me this week and told me that it was official,” noted Wagner. “He said he can’t wait for me to get on campus and have another Wayne Warrior there.”
He will sign with the Irish Dec. 15 without having certainty of who Notre Dame’s next offensive line coach will be. With Wagner being a recent pledge, he doesn’t have the longstanding emotional component of being a Notre Dame commit like other recruits do. So why stay so locked in with Notre Dame?
“The main thing was that I committed to the school and not just the coaches,” he explained. “Notre Dame hiring someone who is from my high school and has known me since I was in like 4th grade makes me feel confident. Whether Coach [Jeff] Quinn is going to be there or not, I knew I wanted to go to Notre Dame.”
The NCAA implemented a new rule in recent years that allows for recruits to take a second official visit to a school that has a head coaching change. Even though Notre Dame promoted from within, the Fighting Irish can still take advantage of that rule.
Wagner is on the Wayne basketball and indoor track team so he will have to work out his scheduling conflict, but he plans to officially visit Notre Dame next weekend along with a high majority of the Irish’s 2022 class.
“I’m pretty sure I’m going to make it,” he said. “It should be a fun time.”
Rivals ranks Wagner as the nation’s No. 202 player and No. 23 offensive tackle in the 2022 class.
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