Power Five QB recruits recap weekend Notre Dame visits
Last weekend, Notre Dame had its first home game in which it could host prospective student-athletes for a recruiting visit, and two notable quarterback prospects were in South Bend.
Folsom (Calif.) High class of 2024 signal caller Austin Mack took advantage of his team’s bye week and got a firsthand look at Notre Dame. It came together fairly quickly, as Notre Dame director of recruiting Aaryn Kearney contact Mack’s head coach not too long ago to express their interest in him.
“Their new indoor facility was insane; it was probably one of the nicest things I’ve seen,” Mack told BlueandGold.com. “Their whole campus is so historic and has so much tradition. It was really cool to see. The fans were great too.
“The game was super cool. There was a ton of kids in the student section. It was like a high school game times 10. It would be crazy to be on the field playing in that atmosphere.”
Unofficial visits for game days for underclassmen are much more for the experience than having in-depth conversations with coaches. Mack was still able to have a meet and greet with Irish offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees though.
“I talked to Coach Rees after the game for a little bit,” Mack said. “He asked me how my season was going and how he’d be watching me. I got his phone number so I’ll be shooting him a call. I talked to some other coaches too.”
An offer from the Fighting Irish would be a big deal for the 6-5, 200-pounder.
“If I got an offer from Notre Dame, it’d be really cool,” he said. “I loved the atmosphere there. It’s not a huge college with a ton of kids, but there’s still a ton of people at their games.”
California, Nevada and Oregon saw Mack’s talents very early and offered him a scholarship before the start of his sophomore year. He’s only a junior varsity quarterback though, as Folsom has a returning senior starter on varsity. It’s rare for a junior varsity prospect to receive offers, but Mack is no normal recruit.
“My strengths are my pocket passing and ability to carve up the defense,” he said.
Mack mentioned that Arizona State, Texas and Washington have been showing interest lately.
Tennessee QB checks out Notre Dame
Dickson (Tenn.) County quarterback Colbey Lamberth has received interest from Notre Dame dating back to last year, and the Fighting Irish sent him a message on Sept. 1, the first day college coaches were allowed to directly contact class of 2023 recruits.
Lamberth visited Notre Dame for the home opener and raved about the experience.
“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “We saw Touchdown Jesus, they took us inside in the new indoor facility, they had some players come in and talked to us, ate, and then we went into their meeting rooms and locker room.”
Next up was Notre Dame’s nail-biting 32-29 victory over Toledo.
“The atmosphere was crazy,” he said. The was the craziest student section I’ve ever seen. I loved the game. It would be something really cool to play in.”
Lamberth plans to keep his recruitment going with Notre Dame and hopes the staff eventually comes calling with a scholarship offer.
“We’ll keep in touch,” he said. “It’s a really prestigious program and a dream school to play at.”
Once his early junior season film gets out there, Lamberth’s recruitment should pick up. Currently, he holds offers from Charlotte, Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky.
“It’s going well,” he said of his 2021 campaign. “We have some things we need to fix to get better, but once we get that going, we’ll be on the right path.
The 6-4, 213-pounder plans to see Ole Miss and Tennessee this month.
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