Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 AUGUST 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY MIKE SINGER Omaha (Neb.) Westside's Teddy Rezac announced his commitment to Notre Dame May 12, and it's a recruit- ment that came together quickly for the Fighting Irish. On May 1, the class of 2024 linebacker prospect had not spoken with the Fight- ing Irish and was unaware they were in- terested in him. Notre Dame's Al Golden and Chad Bowden made it to his school later that week to evaluate him and ex- tended an offer. The Rezac family made it to South Bend May 7, and by the end of the two- day trip the three-star recruit informed head coach Marcus Freeman that he'd be committing to Notre Dame. But it was even before he stepped foot on campus that Rezac had the feeling that Notre Dame would be home for him. "Notre Dame was the place I wanted to be," Rezac said. "Going into the visit, I was thinking that unless there was something crazy that would make me shy away from it, then it would be where I wanted to go." Rezac cites Notre Dame's combina- tion of athletics and academics, and the campus and coaching staff as the rea- sons he picked the Irish. "Talking to Coach Freeman, Coach Max [Bullough], Coach Bowden — I had a really fun time on my visit," he said. "It gave me the sense of where I wanted to be." The last item on the itinerary for Rezac's visit was a meeting with Freeman, which lasted about an hour and ended with the commitment conversation. "I told him that this is the place I wanted to be and that I wanted to com- mit," Rezac recalled. "He got up and gave me a dap and a hug. He was pretty excited, and then we walked out, and the other coaches were waiting for me and talked to me and gave me a hug." If on May 1 you would've told Rezac that he'd be publicly committed to the Fighting Irish 11 days later, he wouldn't have believed you. "Honestly, no. I didn't have any com- munication with them," he said. "That was not a reality for me at that time. It's all come really fast, but it feels right." Rezac grew up going to Nebraska games because his family has had season tickets for as long as he can remember. Notre Dame offered him a scholarship May 4 and Nebraska offered him the following week, but at that point Rezac had already informed the Irish staff of his commitment. And with Notre Dame, Rezac is where he wants to be. "Notre Dame made me feel wanted," Rezac said. "That's a big thing." His older brother, Domi- nic, is going into his sopho- more season as a linebacker a t Va n d e rb i l t . H i s tw i n brother, Anthony, is a quar- terback at Westside and holds offers from Air Force, Army and Navy. He's ex- pected to pick up more of- fers this year. His father, DJ, was an all-state player for Westside High and played one year of football for the Indiana Hoosiers. Rezac totaled 62 stops, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 inter- ceptions during his junior season in which he helped Westside capture the Ne- braska Class A state cham- pionship. Offensively, Rezac hauled in 32 passes for 414 yards with 4 receiving touchdowns. "I'm a team-first guy," Rezac said. "I want to help everyone around me get better. I'm lengthy and versatile; I'll play wherever they want me. I'm fast and have a lot of room to grow in my frame." On3 ranks Rezac as the No. 10 player in Nebraska and the No. 32 athlete in the nation. He plays all over the field at the high school level on both sides of the ball and is expected to play linebacker for the Irish. All of Rezac's scholarship offers were for defense except for Coastal Carolina. He also plays baseball for Westside High. ✦ Nebraska Linebacker Wastes No Time, Commits To Notre Dame FILM ANALYSIS "He's a good athlete who has length, and Notre Dame has more of a projected player than a four- or five-star guy with Teddy Rezac. He's a guy who they're projecting to be good. I would never go against Al Golden if Al likes him, because he knows his stuff and is a very good recruiter. "They may find him as a guy with projectability. Notre Dame is confident in their evaluations, and they don't care what others think, which is good. But when you take too many projects, it can be a problem down the line." — Prep Football Report recruiting analyst Tom Lemming COMMITMENT PROFILE TEDDY REZAC Rezac, a three-star recruit and the No. 32 athlete in the country per On3, picked up a late offer from home-state Nebraska but still picked the Fighting Irish. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM "It's all come really fast, but it feels right." REZAC ON HIS PLEDGE COMING JUST 11 DAYS AFTER NOTRE DAME'S FIRST CONTACT WITH HIM