Notre Dame Adds Six Preferred Freshman Walk-Ons To Roster
During head coach Brian Kelly’s first 10 seasons, three different former walk-ons have earned a captaincy: linebacker Joe Schmidt (2015), and wide receivers Austin Webster (2017) and Chris Finke (2019).
Two more were placed on scholarship in December: senior offensive lineman Colin Grunhard and graduate student running back Mick Assaf.
One never knows when the next such feel-good story occurs, but a total of six preferred freshmen walk-ons are expected to join the 2020 roster with the 23 walk-ons who already were aboard at the start of spring. Alphabetically, the half-dozen newcomers are:
Bryan Dowd, 6-3, 180 — Kicker/Punter
This one is the most complicated because the Fenwick High product from Oak Park, Ill., will be on a soccer scholarship, and that season coincides with football’s.
He ranked as Top Drawer Soccer’s No. 1 goalkeeper in the nation and played for the U-17 U.S. National Team. Dowd also was a kicker/punter, converting 4 of 5 field goals and all 29 point after tries.
Kevin Pendergast (1991-93) did come over from soccer to placekicker in his time at Notre Dame.
Griffin Eifert, 6-2, 205 — WR/S
Younger brother of Notre Dame’s 2012 Mackey Award winner and first-round NFL Draft pick Tyler Eifert, Griffin helped lead Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Dwenger to an 11-2 record as a senior, catching 30 passes for 478 yards and seven touchdowns while totaling 42 tackles with five interceptions on defense. A year earlier he caught 463 yards worth of passes and six scores for the Class 4A state champions.
He had planned to walk-on at Purdue, where his father and brother Grady both played basketball.
Giovanni Ghilotti, 6-4, 225 — DE/OLB
From Greenbrae, Calif., Ghilotti starred at Marin Catholic and received scholarship offers from San Diego and Montana State. Ghilotti Construction has been one the leading general engineering contractors in the Bay Area for more than a century.
Chase Ketterer, 6-1, 185 — QB
The nearby New Prairie, Ind., resident is an option specialist (5,494 rushing yards and 98 touchdowns in his career), and an ideal scout team quarterback to prepare for Navy’s triple option.
Connor Schmidt, 6-5, 270 — OL
Two-way player also recorded 41 tackles and four sacks as senior during 10-2 season at Wheaton (Ill.) St. Francis.
Charlie Selna, 6-7, 215 — TE/DE
Also a standout in basketball for Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, Calif., he averaged 11.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game on a 23-6 team.
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