12/16/2020 football Edit

Notre Dame Signee Profile: S Justin Walters

Mike Singer • InsideNDSports

Recruiting Insider

Bolingbrook (Ill.) High safety Justin Walters' recruitment officially came to an end on the first day of the early signing period. The hard-hitting, 6-2, 185-pounder committed to Notre Dame earlier this year and put pen to paper with the Irish.

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Chicagoland safety Justin Walters has signed with the Fighting Irish.

RANKINGS

Rivals: Three-star talent, No. 36 safety and No. 8 player in Illinois

ESPN: Three-star talent, No. 51 safety and No. 17 player in Illinois

NOTABLE

• Born on March 4, 2003

• 2019 Joliet Herald-News All-Area team

• Chicago Sun Times' 2019 Preseason Top 10 Defensive Players

• No. 4 player in 2021 Illinois Player Rankings Per Prepredzone.com

• 2019 Bolingbrook Academic Excellence Award

• Also played baseball in high school

• His brother, Brandon, is a running back for Army

• His older sister, Kayla, runs track at Miami (Ohio)

OFFER SHEET

Army, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Colorado, Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Temple, UCF, Western Michigan, and Wisconsin

2021 PROJECTION

We expect Walters to redshirt as a true freshman in 2021.

QUOTABLE

“The community at Notre Dame is such a tight knit family on so many levels. The alumni connections at Notre Dame are so impressive and the fan base is just crazy. I was able to get more answers on my visit on Saturday including learning more about the team and getting to talk to some of the players at Notre Dame. I was able to get more details about the overall academic and the structure of the academics program at Notre Dame. I also just really connected with everyone at Notre Dame on my visit including head coach Brian Kelly. It just felt like everything just fell into place for me yesterday. I came home and we talked everything over with my family last night but I felt like I was already to commit to Notre Dame right after we left campus.” - Walters

EXPERT TAKE

“Walters is the type of safety who puts fear in wide receivers when they come across the middle of the field. There is also little concern about his instincts for the position; his read and reaction time is excellent. Size, speed and movement skills do not look to be a concern, but those are elements you cannot get a true feel for until you're able to pair up in-person evaluations with film evaluations.” - Rivals midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt