Markese Stepp Commits To Notre Dame

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Notre Dame has found its next running back.

Indianapolis Cathedral's Markese Stepp committed to Notre Dame on Sunday a day after he was in town for the annual Irish Invasion.

Stepp, who is unranked by Rivals.com at the time but pegged as one of the top 2018 recruits in Indiana, picked the Irish over Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Missouri, Duke, Iowa and Tennessee.

He had said last month that the plan was to visit a number of different schools this summer before making a decision, but it turns out that all he needed to see was Notre Dame with his family.

“It’s a special place, it’s like a dream come true," Stepp said. "[Head Coach Brian Kelly] had been telling me that he likes me a lot and he likes recruiting guys like me [and Cathedral linebacker and current Notre Dame commit Pete Werner] a lot. He said that we fit the system."

The numbers and style of play agree.

Stepp ran for 888 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season at Cathedral in a traditional offense. He showed a powerful burst at the line of scrimmage and wasn't afraid of contact.

The 6-0, 205-pound Stepp joins Rivals100 quarterback Phil Jurkovec as the initial commits in the class of 2018 for Notre Dame. Stepp says that the plan now is to recruit guys like Rivals100 athlete Houston Griffith and defensive end Malik Vann to join him in South Bend.