18 SEPT. 2, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY TYLER HORKA
I
t was fitting for Spen-
cer Shrader's Notre Dame
debut to occur in a conti-
nent that calls its most popular
sport football. Yeah, Shrader
is a football player. An Ameri-
can football player. Notre
Dame's graduate stu-
dent placekicker, to be
specific. But until five
years ago, he was
a soccer player
first and fore-
most. That
o t h e r k i n d
o f fo o tba l l
was his life.
His self-proclaimed "number one
passion."
Most people's No. 1 passion is some-
thing that eludes them after high school.
The memories never fade, but reality sets
in. Life goes on. They leave it behind.
Not Shrader. He chased it. All the way
to Brazil.
Shrader had a foreign exchange stu-
dent from South America's largest
country on his high school soccer team
in Florida. A dream to play soccer over-
seas was realized as a result of a simple
conversation between Shrader and his
buddy, Bruno.
"He just looks at me and he's like, 'My
family, we live in Brazil, my dad owns
training academies. Just come back with
Shrader is impressive on and off the field. He has the
range to make a 63-yard field goal, and he also owns
multiple businesses.
PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER
NOT JUST ANYBODY
Graduate student kicker Spencer Shrader
embodies all things Notre Dame,
from elite football to making a difference off the field
