Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 JUNE/JULY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY MIKE SINGER Notre Dame earned a commitment May 1 from Chandler (Ariz.) High safety Kennedy Urlacher, who is the son of NFL Hall of Famer and Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher. Urlacher picked up an offer from Notre Dame Jan. 23 and quickly set up a campus visit for the weekend of April 15. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder loved his experience in South Bend, and a cou- ple weeks afterwards announced a top schools list of Illinois, Kansas State, Mi- ami, Notre Dame, Penn State and TCU. When the time came to make his choice, Urlacher announced his plans to play collegiate ball for the Fighting Irish. "The relationship with the coaches — and I really like what they said about how you can play big-time football at most of the schools I have an offer from, but you can't get the network that Notre Dame has," Urlacher said when asked why he picked the Irish. Urlacher is Notre Dame's third de- fensive back commitment, joining Cin- cinnati Archbishop Moeller's Karson Hobbs and Round Rock (Texas) High's Leonard Moore. Hobbs and Moore are expected to play cornerback in South Bend, while Urlacher is the first safety commit for Notre Dame. Urlacher spoke with Notre Dame di- rector of recruiting Chad Bowden, head coach Marcus Freeman and safeties coach Chris O'Leary about his decision to commit. "Coach Bowden was going crazy," Urlacher recalled. "He was really, re- ally happy. Coach Freeman was super pumped. He's ready to get me there and get it started. Coach O'Leary was also really happy." Urlacher had the conversation about committing with Bowden April 21. It was initially Urlacher's plan to make his decision public May 22 because he wanted to wait and mull things over. Bowden sold him that there was no rea- son to wait if Urlacher already knew Notre Dame was the best choice. "I said, 'You know what, you're right.' He talked to me into it, and he was right," Urlacher admitted. "So, I went ahead and committed." While many pundits believed Notre Dame was considered the team to beat for him for months before his commit- ment, the Irish staff had some obstacles to overcome. Urlacher admitted to Blue & Gold Il- lustrated that after a March trip to Mi- ami, the Hurricanes were in the lead for him. But his April trip to Notre Dame was the difference-maker. His connec- tion with the Notre Dame staff and seeing how the coaches and players interacted was key. "It's more like their friends; they all get along great," Ur- lacher noted. Urlacher's father was excited by his son's choice of Notre Dame. The elder Urlacher even has some experience with Free- man, when they briefly played together in Chicago in 2009. "I told him [about my com- mitment] in our living room, and he had chills," Urlacher said of his father. "He was re- ally happy." The road map for Urlacher to enroll early has been set. He's looking forward to getting to South Bend in January and will participate in spring ball in 2024. "I'm a physical player and give 100 per- cent every play," he said. "Hopefully, I'll bring great production to Notre Dame." During his junior season at Chandler — a top program in Arizona — Urlacher had 34 tackles (1 for loss), 1 interception, 2 passes broken up, 1 fumble recovery re- turned for a score and 1 blocked field goal. "He busts his butt. He works his tail off," Brian Urlacher said of his son to Claudia Collins of Sports360AZ in Feb- ruary. "He's always working out and doing stuff on his own. … His speed is pretty good, but I'm never going to stop pushing him. In his mind, he knows he can get better as well. "He's witty. He doesn't say a lot. He's very quiet, but he'll throw some jabs at you, which I like. He's even-keeled — never gets too high or too low." Urlacher was a 2022 Sports360AZ All-Academic Football Team selection for Division 6A with a 4.0 weighted grade-point average. He also was named to the 2020 MaxPreps Freshman All- American second-team defense. On3 ranks Urlacher as a three-star prospect, the No. 12 player in Arizona and the No. 62 safety in America. ✦ Son Of NFL Hall Of Famer Picks The Fighting Irish COMMITMENT PROFILE KENNEDY URLACHER Urlacher, On3's No. 12 player in Arizona and the No. 62 safety nationally, picked the Fighting Irish over Illinois, Kansas State, Miami, Penn State and TCU. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM FILM ANALYSIS "You start with Kennedy Urlacher's ability as a run defender and tackler. Along with playing safety, you'll see him lining up over the slot and in the box. I would not rule out the possibility of him growing into a linebacker — or at the minimum, being a box-hybrid safety. "He's very strong on contact and is a sound tackler. He's filled out over the course of his high school career. On film, Urlacher looks thick in the lower body and is not afraid of contact. He drives through the ball carrier and has some cover ability as well with how he's played in the slot and deep." — On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power