Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 JANUARY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE SINGER Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West class of 2023 offensive lineman Chris Terek was happily committed to Wisconsin — despite Paul Chryst's firing — before Notre Dame entered the picture with an offer in October. Wisconsin decided to go with Luke Fickell as its next head coach rather than retaining Jim Leonhard, who held the role in an interim capacity, With that move, offensive line coach Bob Bostad left to take a job at Indiana. If Leonhard and Bostad had been re- tained, there's a decent chance Terek would have stuck with the school he had been pledged to since June. But a little more than three weeks away from early signing period Dec. 21-23, Terek had a big decision to make. The Fighting Irish staff had been keeping in close contact with him in the past several weeks and made the deci- sion rather easy for him at the end of the day. "There was uncertainty [with Wis- consin] and, obviously, Notre Dame is Notre Dame," Terek said. "I love Notre Dame. The culture there is top tier. "What they're building now is pretty special with the 2023 and 2024 classes." Terek made up his mind on the flip Nov. 27 and announced his news pub- licly that evening. "I had been thinking about it, and Notre Dame has given me a bunch of time to make my decision," Terek said. "Honestly, it was more time than I expected. That showed a lot to me. I thought it was time to get it figured out with signing day being soon." Terek has a few interesting connec- tions to Notre Dame. The Chicagoland prospect attends the same high school that produced former Irish offensive lineman Chris Watt, who is now on staff at Notre Dame and helped recruit Terek to South Bend. His high school teammate, Marcello Diomede, is a kicker prospect commit- ted to Notre Dame as a preferred walk- on in the 2023 class. And Terek grew up a close friend of Irish class of 2024 wide receiver commit Cam Williams, who is also from the Glen Ellyn area. "I've always watched Notre Dame games, and I've been to a few, too," Terek said. "It's one of the craziest football en- vironments in college sports; that drew my attention. And having all of those connections — those are all dudes I've known growing up. That's super cool." Terek spoke to Watt, head coach Mar- cus Freeman and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand to inform the staff of his commitment. "They were all super pumped," Terek noted. Watt, of course, played for Hiestand at Notre Dame, and the offensive line tradition in South Bend played a role for Terek in picking the Irish. "Coach Hiestand has a pretty good track record of dudes he's produced," Terek noted. "Notre Dame in general is known for offensive linemen, which is a big deal. Coach Watt is someone I know well and has been through what I'm go- ing through." Terek will wrestle for his high school this winter and enroll at Notre Dame next summer. He reports that he cur- rently stands at 6-5, 310 pounds. The Irish are looking at Terek to play as a guard or center in their offense. "I'm a guy who's going to work and help build something special at Notre Dame," Terek said. He earned 2022 Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 8A first-team all-state honors. Terek was named the West Suburban Conference top offensive lineman and was listed on the West Suburban Silver All-Confer- ence team. Terek is a three-star prospect and the No. 52 interior offensive lineman in America per On3. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE CHRIS TEREK Chicagoland Offensive Lineman Flips From Wisconsin Terek, who is a three-star prospect and the No. 52 interior offensive lineman in America per On3, flipped his pledge from the Badgers to the Fighting Irish Nov. 27. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND FILM ANALYSIS "[Chris] Terek dominates as a run blocker from his right tackle position. Flexible with a natural knee bend, he shows the athletic ability to play either tackle or guard at the next level. Terek shows excellent feet, strong hands, stays low and is very physical. Technically sound with a tenacious style of play, Terek loves to mix it up. "He's known for his ability to pancake de- fenders on a regular basis. He shows the abil- ity to adjust and sustain in space, gives great effort and has the desire to always make the second block. Terek is just a terrific talent with All-American potential." — Prep Football Report recruiting analyst Tom Lemming