The NCAA isn’t allowing any face-to-face contact between college coaches and prospective student-athletes during the pandemic, but that doesn’t stop high school recruits from taking their own self-guided tour of a university.
Sure, pretty much everything at a college is closed down, but for Milton (Ga.) High class of 2022 tight end Jack Nickel, it’s an opportunity to get around campus and get a feel for the town.
The 6-4, 230-pounder was in South Bend on Tuesday morning with his parents, brother and two sisters. He visited Notre Dame last October for the USC game, but got a more in-depth feel of the campus during his latest trip.
“I really didn’t get to see the whole campus last time; I just saw the football side of it,” he said. “The campus was really nice; it was the nicest campus I’ve ever seen. I did like the size of it. I like how it’s small because everyone knows everyone. That’s something I like — a personal preference.
“I can definitely see myself going to school there. I want to see how the other schools are as well.”
After leaving campus, Nickel gave Notre Dame tight ends coach John McNulty a call.
“Coach McNulty was really happy we took the time to get out here,” Nickel added. “We talked about how Notre Dame is a lot different than other schools. The campuses can look the same at other schools, but Notre Dame has a different feeling.”
Following his Notre Dame visit, the Nickel family drove down to Purdue, which offered him May 2019. They’re staying in Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday and then plan to hit Wisconsin July 2 and Iowa July 3. He visited Ohio State on Monday.
Nickel was the first tight end in the 2022 class to land an offer from the Badgers, and the Hawkeyes offered Nickel over the weekend.
There is currently one Rivals FutureCast pick for Nickel, which is for him to land at Notre Dame.
“I really liked Notre Dame,” Nickel concluded.
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