Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY COREY BODDEN During his high school career, of- fensive lineman Zeke Correll made a name for himself to opponents and college coaches thanks to his aggres- sion and overall nastiness up front in the trenches. Correll spent most of his time play- ing guard at Cincinnati Anderson with a brief stint that lasted a few games at tackle. But when Notre Dame began pushing hard for the talented 2019 mauler, the idea of a position switch from guard to center came about from the Irish staff. The prospect was open to the idea and did some work during the off- season between his junior and senior campaigns to become familiar with the spot. However, Correll remained a staple at guard for Anderson, so he finished his high school career with- out a single game snap at center. Due to his play on the field, the 6-3, 275-pounder earned a spot in the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Fla., giving him the opportunity to compete against the nation's best. Correll arrived at the event with the expectation he would play his customary guard spot, but he was open to whichever position the coaches preferred. To his surprise, center was open and he jumped at the opportunity to begin the transi- tion to his next position with actual game reps. "That's what I'm playing in col- lege, so doing that against the best talent in the country would prepare me much more for the position under the pressure of learning the spot in four days," Correll said. "Working on that with great coaches down there and going against some top talent definitely helped me see where I'm at. I'm pleased, but obviously not satisfied. "I did better than I thought I would do. I didn't have any bad snaps, so that was pretty encouraging." With the strong performance, Cor- rell's confidence about the move to center is higher than it would have been if he played guard in the all-star game. "That was huge for me," he stated. "I hadn't been working on it for a su- per long time, so knowing the talent I was facing with 320-pound, big-time players and pancaking some of them really helped. "There were a bunch of good guys down there." Though some aspects of playing center are similar to that of guard, it has been a learning experience for Correll. The early enrollee saw a noticeable change in his run block- ing even from limited work with the coaches in Orlando. "It was definitely pretty difficult at first," he explained. "Just trying to snap and move simultaneously, I haven't perfected it yet. I've gotten a lot better at it, though. The technique throughout the whole offensive line, except maybe tackle, is kind of the same. The biggest difference for me is learning how to call the offense pre-snap. I really have to learn that during the spring. "In the run block area, just the first step and trying to keep my shoul- ders more square really helped. Even just a couple of days working, that helped me tremendously." Although Correll arrived at Notre Dame in January with limited experi- Zeke Correll Is Ready To Make The Transition To Center After spending almost all of his high school career at guard, Correll will move to center for his first spring ball at Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM "They said they will throw me in the mix for spring ball. I hope I can seize the opportunity and take advantage of it." CORRELL