Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING BY KYLE KELLY N ear the 50-yard line before Notre Dame's meeting with Central Mich- igan Sept. 16, three Fighting Irish foot- ball recruiting commits hung out along- side coach Marcus Freeman and director of recruiting Chad Bowden. A fourth recruit with a less prominent profile also mingled at midfield. Few knew the name, Xavier Southall. That changed quickly. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Southall verbally committed to the Notre Dame football program Sept. 17. Bowden of- fered the 2024 recruit from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy a spot as a pre- ferred walk-on before the game. He accepted it by the time he entered Notre Dame Stadium and met Freeman on the turf during pregame activities. And he joined a recruiting class that in- cludes the three commits attending the game: West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West safety Taebron Bennie-Powell, Lake- wood (Ohio) St. Edward edge Loghan Thomas and Hannibal (Mo.) High run- ning back Aneyas Williams. "[Freeman] was very happy," Southall told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "He con- gratulated me and told me to make my own legacy even though my dad went there — pave my own path. Because it's not about following in my dad's foot- steps, but coming here and making your own footprint." Southall is the son of former Irish free safety Cornelius "Corny" Southall, who started on the Irish 1988 national cham- pionship team. The elder Southall began his Notre Dame career in 1985. After his football playing days, the elder Southall worked for the United States Secret Service in the Presidential Protection Division for 27 years. Still, his Irish bloodlines remained strong. According to Xavier Southall, emo- tion overcame his father when he chose to pave his own path at Notre Dame. He opted for the preferred walk-on route with the Irish over FCS offers from Brown University and Alcorn State. "My dad was ecstatic," Southall said. "He was extremely happy about the commitment." Southall transferred to IMG Academy last spring for his high school senior season. He previously played for Alex- andria (Va.) St. Stephen's & St. Agnes, where he had 15 receptions for 283 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. He plays for the IMG Academy "White" Varsity team, not the national team that often finds itself on cable television airways. The White team still plays a prominent schedule. Through four games during his se- nior campaign, Southall had caught 13 passes for 170 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had a 20-yard touchdown run. On3 has yet to give him a star rating. T h e co m m i t m e n t b e ca m e m o re meaningful to Southall after reflect- ing on his trips to South Bend over the years. He recalls numerous times start- ing from when he was 8, and he admit- ted to attending almost every home game over the last several years. But the Central Michigan game was his first time on campus as a true football recruit. And the visit did not disappoint. "It's been a very surreal experience being given an opportunity to play at Notre Dame," he said. "It's just been amazing, truly humbling. It was really cool hanging out with other commits and getting a feel for my teammates and how everything operates. "Meeting all the coaches, meeting all the staff. It has just been an amazing experience. Truly surreal." Southall pointed to the coaching staff for making the visit an excellent one. Freeman, Bowden and wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey were the ones Southall spoke to the most. "The attention and love they showed was just really there," he said. "Because in the past, they focused on other guys. And now, being a senior, they focused on me." He also enjoyed getting to know Ben- nie-Powell, Thomas and Williams. "They're really down-to-earth, cool guys," he said. "I talked to Aneyas a lot. He was super nice. We talked a little bit about the game. I didn't really talk in depth with them. But just surface level, they're really just cool, down-to-earth guys." Now that Southall can finally call him- self a Notre Dame commit, he will not understate the meaning of it. After all, he took a winding path to end up Irish. "I've pretty much grown up there," he said. "Then, now, being an actual commit there is just truly, truly a blessing. But it did come with a lot of hard work and a lot of transitions throughout my life. "Having to move from Virginia to Florida to pursue my athletic and aca- demic career. And then now being able to have an opportunity to go to the next level and pursue an academic and ath- letic career at an amazing school that has an amazing community and family around, it is just a true blessing." ✦ Legacy Recruit Xavier Southall Opts To Be A Preferred Walk-On At Notre Dame Over Other Offers Southall (second from the left) visited Notre Dame — along with Irish commits Aneyas Williams (far left), Taebron Bennie-Powell (second from right) and Loghan Thomas (far right) — for the Central Michigan game. The next day, he pledged to join the Irish as a preferred walk-on. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY