Top 2024 LB Target Anthony Speca Recaps ‘Special’ Notre Dame Visit
On April 23, Pittsburgh Central Catholic linebacker Anthony Speca became Notre Dame’s first scholarship offer in the 2024 class.
At that point, Pittsburgh was the only other school that had offered him. Penn State, Purdue, West Virginia have dished out scholarships to the 6-3, 220-pound rising sophomore since.
Speca took a visit to June 24 with his good friend Ta’Mere Robinson, a class of 2023 linebacker target of the Fighting Irish. Read about Robinson’s visit experience by clicking here.
It seemed that the talented recruits enjoyed their time on campus. Speca cited Notre Dame’s “beautiful” campus as one of the highlights of the trip and added that he liked the architecture and facilities.
“The visit overall was more than I could’ve hoped for,” Speca said. “Each staff member’s energy was on a different level. Notre Dame is known for being such a great school, but I got an inside look on what that really means.
“My favorite part of the visit was the meeting with Coach [Marcus] Freeman. He is someone who could eventually be my coordinator, position coach, and mentor. The things he said to me were from his heart, and it was really nice to understand that as a coach, he will push beyond my limits only wanting to see me succeed. I could see myself playing for him definitely.”
Speca also spent time with defensive line coach Mike Elston, defensive analyst Nick Lezynski and defensive director of recruiting Chad Bowden.
“The overall message from each of them that I took away was that Notre Dame is a special place that creates special people,” Speca said. “They all told me that it takes work to succeed at Notre Dame, but it’s worth it when it’s all said and done and I have that degree.
Speca had a chance to meet head coach Brian Kelly as well.
“He’s the epitome of a players’ coach,” Speca stated. “He didn’t once mention himself or his accomplishments; he only wanted to know about us. The way he talks about Notre Dame, it’s easy to tell he’s passionate about his program and players.”
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