Notre Dame Represents Big Offer For 2023 Florida State Commit
Late in February, Notre Dame was actively recruiting the running back position in a big way. It not only added a commitment from Rivals250 2022 running back Jadarian Price but also dished out a handful of notable offers in the 2023 class.
One of the offers went out to Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater ball carrier Cedric Baxter. The 6-0, 195-pounder is a longtime commit of the in-state Florida State Seminoles, but the Notre Dame staff and running backs coach Lance Taylor are actively looking to change that.
“I was extremely shocked when I got the offer,” Baxter said. “Notre Dame is a really big academic school and they have been in the playoffs twice over the past three years. That is huge.”
Baxter committed to Florida State back in July of 2020. That is abnormally early for a 2023 prospect to commit, and it seems schools are looking to convince Baxter to reevaluate his options.
As it stands, he holds 17 scholarship offers. Many schools have been in contact with Baxter, but the notable offers for him include Arizona State, Auburn, Penn State and Tennessee.
While Notre Dame has not performed how it would have liked to in either appearance in the College Football Playoff, recruits take notice when a team is consistently among the top four teams in the nation.
Baxter had not talked to the Notre Dame staff or Lance Taylor before the offer came in on February 17, but he expects it to pick up.
It should be noted that the Sunshine State star is still strong in his commitment to Florida State for now. Baxter is still talking with other schools and listening to their pitches but he has not completely shut down his recruitment yet.
“Notre Dame is an excellent program that has been doing really big things,” Baxter said. “I guess we’ll have to see what happens.”
Notre Dame does not have all of its chips in the Baxter sweepstakes, however. It has offered more backs in the 2023 cycle and it seems more likely than not that Baxter winds up sticking with his pledge to the Seminoles.
Among the other three running backs offered, two are also from Florida. Sedrick Irvin Jr. and Richard Young both hail from Florida, while the other offer came to Justice Haynes, a resident of nearby Georgia.
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