Notre Dame coaches on the road: Two local trips set for Irish staff
Most of Notre Dame’s coaching staff is in South Bend Friday getting ready for a big recruiting weekend. Irish receivers coach Del Alexander is out on the road making a recruiting stop before his lone recruit visiting this weekend (2022 receiver commit Tobias Merriweather) gets in town. Irish defensive director of recruiting Chad Bowden will also be on the road.
Sources tell BlueandGold.com that Alexander will be over at Chicago Simeon on Friday morning, checking in on class of 2023 wide receiver Malik Elzy. Bowden will make it over to Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean, home of class of 2023 linebacker commit Drayk Bowen.
The Fighting Irish offered Elzy over the summer, nine days after he visited campus in late July for Notre Dame’s “Grill and Chill” recruiting event. Elzy returned to Notre Dame’s campus for the Purdue game and had a great experience, and Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees went to see Elzy play this fall in a game in which the four-star prospect caught six passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns, plus had a 55-yard interception returned for a score.
“I saw Coach Rees. I didn’t even know he was coming to the game; he surprised me,” Elzy said. “It means a lot that he popped up out of nowhere. I saw him and said, ‘Wow. Coach Rees from Notre Dame is here.’ I had to show out for him.”
Rivals ranks Elzy as the nation’s No. 29 wide receiver and No. 193 overall player in the 2023 class. He’s a big target for Notre Dame and is also being pursued by Michigan, Ole Miss and others.
On Nov. 3, 2021, Bowen committed to Notre Dame over Auburn and Clemson, giving the Irish a pledge from the nation’s No. 2 outside linebacker and No. 34 overall prospect in the 2023 cycle. Bowen also plans to play on the Irish baseball team.
“Obviously, the academics are Ivy League,” Bowen told BlueandGold.com about picking Notre Dame. “I have a great relationship with both the football and baseball coaches. And one of the biggest reasons I picked them was because over the summer, I wasn’t home very much, and my younger brother and sister started to grow up, and I missed a lot of that. I don’t want to keep missing that.
“With Notre Dame being close to home, I’m an hour away and won’t miss much.”
Notre Dame has six verbal commitments in its 2023 class, which is ranked No. 2 nationally by Rivals.
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