I checked in with four-star Virginia linebacker Bodie Kahoun and Ohio four-star cornerback Karson Hobbs. Here’s what they had to say as they prepare for their senior seasons in high school and look forward to joining the Irish next year.
Kahoun has visited campus three times, including his official visit on June 9th but noted he has yet to see a game.
“I’m going to the Ohio St. game,” he said. “It’s going to be packed. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Kahoun discussed the bond he has formed with some of the other Irish 2024 recruits, including Illinois wide receiver Cam Williams, Hobbs, and Nebraska linebacker Teddy Rezac, and he talked about where he sees himself fitting in after discussions with Coach Golden and Coach Bullough:
“I’m 6-2, 6-3, and 215 to 220 pounds. I’ll play not only one but both Mike and Will linebacker, inside and outside,” Kahoun said.
When asked what drew him to Notre Dame, Kahoun discussed how he grew up in Indiana for ten years before moving to Virginia, though his mom is a Purdue grad and had a bit of an ND rivalry respect. He said she’s now a fan.
“One thing I love most about Notre Dame is how everyone, the students and all the athletes, are one big family. We all have one goal: to be successful,” Kahoun said. “That’s the biggest thing that stuck out to me.”
“They have some of the best academics in the country. I love the layout of the campus. [And] how it’s not a lot of people, not too small, but not a huge school. It’s around eight thousand people, which is perfect. It’s beautiful. I love the God Quad. Rain or shine, it’s the same.”
His prediction for this year’s team was pretty optimistic:
“I think the team [the Irish] with the defense and offense is going to have one of the best teams they’ve had in a while. Bringing in a new quarterback. I love the same defense; it’s the same as my high school but a little more complex, so I’m familiar with it.”
Kahoun is excited for his senior year of high school before joining the Irish next season:
“I’m very excited for my senior year. We lost a really good group of wide receivers. I feel like with the work we are putting in, though, we can be better than last year. This is the hardest working and most disciplined my high school coach has said he’s had,” he said.
“I’d rather have a very disciplined team that doesn’t have as great of talent rather than talent and no discipline. Hopefully, we can win the state championship.”
Spoken like a coach’s dream recruit and a seasoned media-savvy player.
Kahoun also knows what’s important to Irish fans, and he’s ready to take on Notre Dame’s biggest rivals.
“I’m very excited to face USC. That’s the big rival,” he said.
Hobbs spoke of the need to be a leader in his senior high school season, and he has a certain wisdom beyond his years. He had a thumb injury at the beginning of July and is still recovering.
“I haven’t been able to do seven-on-seven or scrimmage. I’ll be back for week 1, with a cast. [So I’ve been focused on] being a leader off the field,” Hobbs said. “Helping the younger guys if they have questions. We just had the senior party at my house today with all the guys. If I want to achieve the goals I want to achieve, then it starts with my team. These are the guys I’m going to build bonds and relationships with for the rest of my life. It’s going to make us have better chemistry come game day, when it’s the fourth quarter, down seven, and we need the ball back, it’ll bring out our chemistry.”
Hobbs sounds like he’s followed the positive news coming out of Irish camp this August, as Head Coach Marcus Freeman has said this year’s Notre Dame team is closer as a team, emotionally than any he has been around.
Hobbs noted the strong chemistry between current Irish cornerbacks Jaden Mickey, Ben Morrison, and Cam Hart. And he said he’s built a relationship already with Irish freshman safety Ben Minick, Mickey, and Morrison.
“Their chemistry has been great. They have the best defense they’ve had in a while,” he said. “I want to see how we hold up versus Ohio St. We have a lot of returners.”
When asked what led him to choose Notre Dame, he said it was an easy choice.
“Since I was a kid, I always dreamed about going to Notre Dame and playing for the team. [It’s always been] my dad’s team, too,” he said. “They offered. I went to campus, I had been to games before as a kid, but seeing it first-hand and seeing the Golden Dome, and being at the [Notre Dame] Stadium, I knew this is a place I want to be.”
“Making that decision with education vs. athletics and Notre Dame being great at both, you really can’t beat it. For me, it was more “Why not go to Notre Dame?”
When asked his prediction for this season, Hobbs said, “I think [the Irish] can compete for a national championship.”
