Isn't it great to hear that?
Those are the words of 2023 LB recruit Tre Edwards of Mater Dei in California, who just got an offer from Marcus Freeman.
For many decades Notre Dame was the dream school for countless kids throughout the country, especially if you were Catholic. Kids would kill to play at ND. How about it, Rudy, from Joliet Catholic? Not so much anymore, unfortunately.
Mater Dei. Our '64 Heisman winner QB, John Huarte, was from there, but so was '04 USC Heisman winner, Matt Leinhart. What happened? Why no pipeline?
Moeller and the GCL in Cincinnati, the Chicago Catholic League, St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida, De La Salle in California, etc. There are a slew of Catholic schools that play great football and have sent players to ND. But it's hit and miss now. The Catholic schools are no longer the feeders that they used to be. No more pipelines.
Reason are obvious: the Catholic faith doesn't have the hold on the young that it used to, so Notre Dame doesn't have the hold on them, like it used to; also, a lot of stars at Catholic high schools now aren't Catholic, so there is no faith connection; Notre Dame's gridiron success often hasn't measured up to the standards of the past, so kids lost interest, and connections were severed--kids want to play for winners; and the big three elite of college football now promise a greater hope for a national championship and a faster track to the NFL.
Guess where Bama's probable starting QB this year, Bryce Young, went to high school? Yep, Mater Dei.
How about Clemson? DJ Uiagalelei from St. John Bosco in California
Times have changed. The Catholic school pipeline will never be like it used to be.
But it's still great to hear that there's a kid from Mater Dei who calls Notre Dame his " dream school."