Montelus eager to work
Notre Dame signee John Montelus suffered a shoulder injury during his senior season at Everett High School in Massachusetts and aggravated it during U.S. Army All-American Bowl practices.
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The 6-foot-5, 295-pound four-star prospect hopes to soon find out how long it will be before he can hit the weight room with full effort.
“I called my doctor (Tuesday) and he said I have a dislocated shoulder,” Montelus said. “He has to make sure that’s 100-percent. Basically after he checks with another guy he’ll call me up and I’ll see if I need surgery or not.”
The injury hasn’t stopped Montelus from lifting; it just has limited the load he can push.
“It’s feeling good and I’m getting the weigh up easily but it still hurts,” he said. “The pain isn’t like it used to be. I’m running and conditioning more.”
Montelus is eager to being his new workout provided by the Irish coaching staff.
“Right now I’m looking to see if I need surgery or not and if I don’t need surgery I’m going to start next week,” he said. “I want to get ready for next football season.”
Montelus, who signed his letter of intent at his school with Wisconsin signee Jakarrie Washington and another teammate headed to a junior college, is relieved the recruiting process is behind him.
Now he can focus on his future at Notre Dame.
“We had the parents and some media come in and we gave some speeches,” he said. “It’s definitely special knowing you’re all set with the recruiting process and all signed up so no more coaches will be calling you.”
After signing, Montelus contacted the Irish coaching staff.
He talked with offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and offensive coordinator Chuck Martin.
“Coach Hiestand was really happy, they were all really happy,” Montelus said. “They basically can’t wait to get me on the field and to coach me.”
Montelus said he and the other Irish signees had a group messaging system set up to track when each of them signed the letter of intent. He tries to keep in contact with his future teammates and is excited to see many of them at the Irish’s annual Blue-Gold game in April.
“I’ll definitely be up there for the spring game,” he said. “I’m going to call coach and get that all set up soon.”
Rivals.com ranked Montelus as the No. 4 guard in the country.