Notre Dame picked up its 4th commitment of the recruiting class of 2013 on Saturday from Illinois offensive lineman Colin McGovern.
McGovern, a 6’7″, 280 lb offensive tackle, didn’t plan on committing to Notre Dame when he showed up for Notre Dame’s first major junior day of the recruiting year, but all it took was one day on campus for the talented tackle recruit to figure out Notre Dame was the place for him.
“I showed up this morning and watching the highlight reel, I just got pumped up for Notre Dame,” McGovern told Blue and Gold Illustrated. ” I sort of grew up a Notre Dame fan being Irish Catholic. Obviously I was high on them, they were high on me. As the day went on, I just got acclimated with the players and coaches and I just fell in love.” he would add.
Considering this was his first trip to campus, McGovern told Blue and Gold he surprised head coach Brian Kelly with the news. He let his new head coach know he planned on joining this year’s class after Kelly asked him if he was loving Notre Dame. “Yeah, I’m actually ready to commit,” was his response. “I don’t think he had a clue it was coming. He was wowed by it and was taken back a little bit. After he let that process, he was excited about it,” he added.
The full interview can be viewed in the video below which Blue and Gold posted to YouTube.
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McGovern is rated as a 4-star prospect from both Scout and 247 Sports while Rivals only has him as a 3-star. A quick glance at his list of scholarship offers, however, should let you know that that 4th star from Rivals is most likely on the way. McGovern selected the Irish with offers in hand from the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Wisconsin – a pretty impressive list to say the least.
With his size and athleticism, tackle definitely looks like McGovern’s destination at the college level where he will join fellow Notre Dame commitment Steve Elmer to give Notre Dame a pair of excellent bookends along the offensive line in this year’s class. Throw into the mix Hunter Bivin who also committed to Notre Dame on Saturday and the Irish are off to an outstanding start up front on offense so far this year.
Colin McGovern Highlights
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Great pick up for Notre Dame here giving the Irish three offensive linemen out of five total commitments in this year’s class so far.