Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 9, 2023 45 FOOTBALL RECRUITING already. His first was back in the spring, and he made it back to campus over the summer. "That was amazing," he said regard- ing his trip July 27. "That's my mom's favorite visit spot … if it was her deci- sion, I'd be committed to Notre Dame. Anybody talking to Coach Freeman knows he's a people person. That's why everyone loves him; he knows how to get through to people. "I talk to Coach Freeman the most out of any head coach. Coach Chad and Gino stay hitting me up, and they want to make sure that I feel love from them." KEEP AN EYE ON THE BEAR Entering September, Bachmeier had only visited three colleges: Alabama, Oregon and Stanford. He hasn't hit the road much, and one would assume that because of that, he'd like to take his time with the process and see more colleges. Bachmeier admitted that in a con- versation with Blue & Gold Illustrated shortly after receiving his offer from the Irish. "I'm extremely open," he said. "I haven't been to a bunch of colleges. I can't make a decision based off going to a couple programs. As a quarterback, you want to commit early, but in my circumstance, it will be later because I haven't been out to a lot of schools." However, Notre Dame could throw a wrench into those plans. He's hoping to get out to visit South Bend when the Irish host Central Michigan the week- end of Sept. 16, which falls on his high school team's bye week. If all goes well during that trip, then he may have seen enough of the recruiting process and want to commit to the Fighting Irish. "I'm really stoked to be offered by the Fighting Irish," Bachmeier said. "I know what Coach Freeman and Coach Gui- dugli did at Cincinnati. I'm hoping they compete for a national championship this year." Bachmeier's older brother, Hank, spent a few seasons as a quarterback at Boise State and transferred to Louisiana Tech earlier this year. His other older brother, Tiger, is a freshman wide re- ceiver at Stanford. During his sophomore year, Bach- meier threw for 2,853 yards with 26 touchdowns and a 73 percent comple- tion percentage. On the ground, he added 644 yards and 18 scores. WHO WILL NOTRE DAME LAND AT THE POSITION? Notre Dame has had past situations where it had the opportunity to take a prospect it really liked but passed on him in the hopes of landing a bigger fish, just to lose out on both. The Irish staff has learned and won't let that hap- pen in the 2025 cycle at quarterback. If Bachmeier visits Notre Dame in September for the Central Michigan game like he's hoping to and wants to commit before Knight is ready to make a decision, then the expectation from what we understand at Blue & Gold Illustrated is that the staff would happily take him. Obviously, time will tell if that situa- tion comes to fruition. But the feeling in talking to various sources is that Notre Dame will end up with either Bachmeier or Knight. Bachmeier is absolutely lov- ing Notre Dame, and he's built quite the strong relationship with the staff in a short period of time. And in the case of Knight, Auburn seems to be picking up steam, and Ten- nessee is a major threat here. But Notre Dame is a huge contender, too, and it being his parents' favorite school is an important factor. ✦ Murrieta (Calif.) Valley's Bear Bachmeier, the No. 9 signal-caller and No. 102 overall recruit in America according to On3, added the Fighting Irish to his offer sheet in July. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/COURTESY ON3