Three-star ATH Ben Minich sets commitment date
The decision is in for three-star athlete Ben Minich. The 2023 recruit will announce his commitment Friday at 6 p.m. EDT.
Minich, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound safety at West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West, will commit to one of five schools: Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Stanford.
Notre Dame hosted Minich for an unofficial visit last week. The Irish offered Minich on July 20 as a follow-up to his Notre Dame camp performance June 21. He became a priority after the Irish couldn't get No. 1 safety Caleb Downs, who eventually committed to Alabama, in their class.
Minich's offer list started to expand after he recorded a wind-aided 100-meter dash time of 10.47 seconds a week after running a wind-legal 10.77 the previous week. All five of Minich's finalists offered him following those documented track times.
Minich's speed backed up his on-field performance. Playing alongside Ohio State safety commit Malik Hartford, Minich totaled 49 tackles and returned one interception for a touchdown last season. He also caught 16 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns.
Minich made official visits in June to Cincinnati, Duke and Wake Forest before camping at Notre Dame. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, safeties coach Chris O'Leary and director of recruiting Chad Bowden maintained frequent contact with Minich since early June. Notre Dame would like to add Minich to a defensive class that includes four-star safeties Peyton Bowen and Adon Shuler.
Rivals ranks Minich as the No. 34 prospect in Ohio for the 2023 class. It did not include him on the national list of top 60 athletes, a designation for prospects who could play multiple positions in college.
The Irish have a chance to land three commitments in three days with scheduled announcements from four-star linebacker Jaiden Ausberry (Thursday), Minich (Friday) and three-star running back Dylan Edwards (Saturday).
Notre Dame already has the top-ranked 2023 class with 20 commitments.
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