Notre Dame in early on massive 2023 nose tackle
October 6, 2021 is a day Ashton Sanders won’t forget.
It started just like any other Wednesday, but the class of 2023 defensive line recruit from Los Angeles Cathedral finished the day armed with his two new scholarship offers. Nevada and Notre Dame joined his offer sheet that already had Fresno State and Utah on it.
“It did catch me surprise, especially knowing how big Notre Dame is,” Sanders said. “I wasn’t expecting that this week. Having my family not have to pay for college is a blessing.”
Notre Dame reached out to Sanders on Sept. 1 and stayed in contact with him in the following few weeks. He received the offer during a phone call with defensive line coach Mike Elston.
“He’s a cool, straightforward guy,” Sanders said. “You can tell he really knows his stuff with all that they do on their defensive line. I’d feel really good being coached by him if I were to commit there.”
During their conversation, they had small talk about Sanders’ academic successes, his size at 6-3, 295 pounds and how Elston had been doing his homework on the junior recruit.
“This is a very big offer,” Sanders added. “Knowing that Notre Dame is always near the playoffs, has winning seasons and a great coaching staff, it’s a very big offer for me.
“Notre Dame is great in academics. That’s one thing we all love.”
The Fighting Irish have defensive end commitments from Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep’s Keon Keeley and Mentor (Ohio) High’s Brenan Vernon in the 2023 class. Adding an interior defensive lineman in the cycle will be key for the Irish, and Sanders will be a name to watch moving forward.
“They said they really like me at nose, but they also like me at three-technique too,” Sanders noted. “You never know.”
Sanders has a trip planned to visit Notre Dame Oct. 23 for its matchup with Sanders’ hometown team, USC.
Through seven games of his junior season, Sanders has been outstanding. He’s recorded 38 tackles (six for loss), three sacks and 17 quarterback hurries.
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