Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 PRESEASON 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Although there are outliers, just about every Division I football re- cruit has a social media presence and announces his offers on either Ins- tagram or Twitter (more commonly the latter). In the rare case of Los Gatos (Ca- lif.) High's Will Schweitzer, who Rivals ranks as the No. 41 player in the Golden State and the No. 26 weak-side defensive end nationally, it was largely unknown until the mo- ment he announced his Notre Dame pledge that he held an offer from the Fighting Irish. "Notre Dame had been talking to me forever, but they never really had a spot open," Schweitzer explained. "[Defensive coordinator] Coach [Clark] Lea even told me that they might give me a call in the fall. "It turns out that one day Coach Lea, [special teams] Coach [Brian] Polian and [defensive line] Coach [Mike] Elston told me that they have a spot and wanted it to be me." In early August, Schweitzer and his mother had already planned to take a trip to the Hoosier State, and the timing of how everything came together couldn't have been better. "My mom and I decided that we were going to see friends, which was right by Notre Dame anyway," Sch- weitzer added. "I told Coach Polian that I'd be there, and he told me that he's not allowed to see me [due to the dead period]. We did a self-guided tour and loved it. I was excited to commit." On Aug. 10, Schweitzer was ready to announce his choice and told Po- lian as much, but a process had to be followed before that could happen. Schweitzer was in close communi- cation with head coach Brian Kelly, Lea and Elston that week, and then announced his commitment to Notre Dame Aug. 16. The public didn't know that Sch- weitzer was a "take" for the Irish staff in the 2021 recruiting class. His first commitment was to Nebraska June 11, but despite that Notre Dame kept recruiting him, and he jumped on his opportunity to commit. A few hours before his public pledge to the Fighting Irish, he an- nounced that he was leaving his Cornhusker verbal. "It really helped not going pub- lic with the offer at first because I didn't have to deal with a lot of the backlash from Nebraska fans," Sch- weitzer said. "It was also fun be- cause when I decommitted and then committed to Notre Dame, no one even knew that I had the offer. It was a big mystery." The process leading up to Polian informing Schweitzer that he had a scholarship brought a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, Schweitzer was excited that he was still under consideration for an offer, but at the same time it was stressful to wait for the verdict. "Every single time Coach Lea or Coach Polian would call me, I would think, 'This is it; they're offering me,'" Schweitzer recalled. "But then it'd be another call where they'd say something like, 'We're talking about you every day now.'" But then Elston got more involved in the recruitment, giving Schweitzer an indication that the offer might be getting closer to occurring. "At first, they were recruiting me as an inside linebacker, but they of- fered me for the vyper defensive end spot, and I'm pretty hyped about that," he said. "I feel like with my length and when my size develops into being a 235- to 245-pound kid I will be great for that position." The decision to pick Notre Dame wasn't a hard one for Schweitzer. "It checked all of the boxes," he said. "It's a great academic school and amazing football program, and it's a Catholic school. I'm from a Catholic family so that was really important to us as well and drove home the decision." California high school football was postponed until the spring, but Schweitzer may enroll early at Notre Dame and not play his senior season. As a junior in 2019, Schweitzer posted 130 total stops, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and three intercep- tions. He also averaged 17.5 yards on eight receptions, with one touch- down, as a tight end. — Mike Singer COMMITMENT PROFILE WILL SCHWEITZER Notre Dame Flips California Pass Rusher From Nebraska Commitment Schweitzer, Rivals' No. 26 weak-side defensive end in the country, racked up 130 total stops, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and three inter- ceptions during his junior campaign at Los Gatos (Calif.) High. PHOTO COURTESY SCHWEITZER VIA TWITTER Film Analysis "He's another kid who can play multiple spots. He's probably quicker than he is fast at this point. He has great hips and is a fluid athlete. He can get around the edge as a de- fensive end and has soft hands as a tight end. "He'll grow into his body and get more ex- plosive as he puts on more good weight. Notre Dame keeps bringing in these kids who can do a lot of different things. "He's bendy and more of a polished pass rusher at this point than [Notre Dame defen- sive end commit] Jason Onye. He flashes a few different pass-rushing moves on his highlight tape, so you can tell he's been working on that. Schweitzer is another good get for the Irish." — Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Mike Goolsby "It checked all of the boxes. It's a great academic school and amazing football program, and it's a Catholic school. I'm from a Catholic family so that was really important to us as well and drove home the decision." SCHWEITZER ON NOTRE DAME