Notre Dame Recruiting Going International
Notre Dame assistant coaches Brian Polian and Mike Elston had a bit of a friendly wager as to which one had the longer trip out on the recruiting trail for the 2020 class.
Polian’s went from Chicago to Honolulu to visit linebacker Jordan Botelho. Elston’s was from Chicago to Dusseldorf, Germany, to meet defensive end Alexander Ehrensberger. Both players ended up at Notre Dame.
“The big deal for (Coach Elston) was, ‘Boy that was a long flight,’” Polian joked. “I still think Chicago, Illinois, to Honolulu is a bit longer. We might have to settle the bet with that one.”
For the record, Google indicates that Polian is correct. His flight to Hawaii was 4,243 miles, 13 miles longer than Elston’s journey to Germany.
Both coaches were on an airplane for more than 10 hours, but that’s just part of the recruiting gig at Notre Dame.
“We used to say in recruiting that we’re a national brand,” Polian said. “But in reality, we have actually become an international brand and that offers a unique opportunity for us to literally recruit ocean to ocean.”
The 18 Irish recruits who on Wednesday signed their National Letter of Intent to play at Notre Dame come from one foreign country and 15 different states, including defensive back Caleb Offord, the first recruit from Mississippi that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has ever landed.
The current 2019 Notre Dame team features players from 29 different states, all the way from Vancouver, Wash., in the northwest; to San Diego, Calif., in the southwest; to Jamestown, R.I., in the northeast; to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in the southeast. And that’s only on the mainland.
Alohi Gilman, Marist Liufau and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa all hail from Hawaii. Canadian Chase Claypool is from British Columbia, and Kofi Wardlow is from the District of Columbia.
“The cross-section of the players that we have in the program, it’s pretty amazing in terms of the diversity of the group,” said Kelly, pointing out that his guys come from all walks of life and all corners of the country. “But they all have one common thread, and that is, they want to be challenged in the classroom and they want to be challenged on the football field. And so that is the common denominator that keeps them coming from all over the country, from the West Coast to the East Coast.”
And Polian explained that with representation from all 50 states and more than 70 foreign countries, the Notre Dame student body is even more diverse than its football team.
“Our students come from everywhere and our team comes from everywhere,” Polian said. "The one thing that binds us all together is the love for Our Lady’s University.”
With a continually increasing influx of Hawaiian players on the Irish roster ever since star linebacker Manti Te’o enjoyed his brilliant career at Notre Dame from 2009-12, the long flight to Honolulu for Polian has become rather routine, and very lucrative in bringing back talented players.
“I’m just the guy that, you know, drives everybody around in Hawaii,” he said. “Because I know where I’m going!”
In addition to a growing number of Polynesian players coming to the mainland to play college football, Polian sees another international trend unfolding with Australian players showing an increased interest in the American game.
Ben Griffiths, a Melbourne native, is a 28-year-old redshirt freshman punter for USC whose official website bio reads in part, “one of the oldest Trojan players ever.”
Griffiths, who feels jilted by that description, is getting such a late start on his college football career because he spent eight seasons from 2010-17 as a 6-5, 250-pound forward in the Australian Football League.
“I want to know who the oldest is,” Griffiths joked in a story for The Athletic. “Because I want to try and beat them if I can.”
Two new 2020 Irish players from New Jersey, two in Kentucky, another from Hawaii, and everywhere in between, and beyond, in this new recruiting class.
“The reach of Notre Dame, the brand of Notre Dame, how many other places could do that?” Polian rhetorically asked. “There aren’t very many schools in the country that can make that reach and do so successfully. It’s a powerful brand it’s one that makes recruiting here a lot of fun.”
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