Steve Angeli wasn't oblivious to the situation.
Angeli, Notre Dame's only quarterback signee in the class of 2022, knew the Fighting Irish had eyes on other signal callers with intentions to ink another last week on early signing day. He can read an offer list just like anyone else.
He can take it straight from Notre Dame's offense coordinator, too.
"Look, I don't think any competitor is happy when they hear that," Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees said. "But he wasn't wavering. It's our duty as coaches to be honest and transparent with recruits and players as much as we can."
Angeli committed to Notre Dame on March 4. He had a conversation with Rees about the potential of signing another quarterback come December around the same time. Rees said he was even prepared to shut down recruitment of other quarterbacks if it meant potentially losing the former four-star and No. 21 pro-style QB in the nation's commitment.
Angeli was not about to let that happen.
"He's a selfless person that believes in his ability to come here and compete," Rees said. "He was supportive. He said, 'Coach, if this is what you feel is best for the program, then this is what you have to do.'"
Notre Dame offered four class of 2022 quarterbacks in addition to Angeli; Walker Howard, Ty Simpson, Drew Allar and Devin Brown. Howard signed with LSU and Brian Kelly. Simpson is off to Alabama. Allar is headed to Penn State. Brown will be an Ohio State Buckeye. Howard was the only five-star of the bunch per Rivals. The rest were four-stars, and based on their destinations they were highly viewed by coaching staffs across the country.
Notre Dame would have been grateful to have any of them suit up in blue and gold in the future, but the only other one to actually set foot on Notre Dame's campus was Howard. It would have taken quite a bit to lure the Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More product out of his home state.
That's part of the reason why Notre Dame didn't put too much time and effort into doing so. Not as much time and effort into making Angeli, an Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic product, feel right at home in South Bend. Rees really likes what he's getting in the 6-2, 210-pound passer on and off the field.
"When we recruited Steve, I think the first thing that jumped out was the intangibles," Rees said. "When you sit down and have a conversation with the kid, you say this is exactly what you want in somebody that's going to represent this program from the very top."
Angeli went 17-1 as a starter at Bergen Catholic. He completed 68.8% of his passes for 1,717 yards and 15 touchdowns to just two interceptions during a 12-0 senior season. Angeli's accolades earned him a spot in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game at Camping World Stadium Jan. 2 in Orlando, Fla.
It's about more than statistics and honors for Angeli, though. He's thrilled to have the chance to compete with the likes of Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne for the starting job next year. Pyne will be a junior and Buchner a sophomore, so they'll have the upper hand. But Angeli is enrolling early and will participate in spring practices next semester.
He's being thrown right into the fire, and Rees can't wait to get him dialed in.
"As you dive through the various outlets of film that are being exposed to you, you start to see a guy that can make all the throws and has enough athleticism to get outside the pocket," Rees said. "You go through that, you get him committed, you evaluate him his senior year and you see all of that come to fruition. You see him win a state championship and you see all those intangible things you believed in come to reality. We're excited as heck to have Steve coming here."
There isn't much longer to wait.
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