Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2024 55 2024 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE "I think that's what Teddy and An- thony bring to the table, whether they end up being multiple-year starters at Notre Dame or they end up being role players or whatever they do," DJ Rezac said. "They're gonna add some tough- ness to any program they're a part of." 'WE CAN WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP' Teddy and Anthony have played foot- ball with each other since they were in third grade. They've done everything together, from soccer to baseball to flag football to full-contact football. More recently, they got into boxing. The Rezac twins' grandfather on their mom's side, Sam Murante, first got them into it. "Just picture this old, Italian grandpa, talking about tough," DJ Rezac said. "Saying, 'In this life, you gotta learn how to throw a punch and you gotta learn how to take a punch.' And he's like, 'My grandsons are gonna learn that.'" Boxing with the Rezacs, who both stand close to 6-foot-4, is as intense as you might imagine. They both like it because of how grueling it is, describing the way it hurts in the moment but the feeling of being done makes it worth it. "It's hard," Teddy said. "It kind of puts into perspective, like, maybe you're not in as great of shape as you thought." While the Rezac twins have spent much of their lives together, the recruit- ing process was a notable exception. They were there to support each other, but they committed to Notre Dame in- dependently. In Teddy's case, Notre Dame defen- sive coordinator Al Golden came to Westside to check out four-star line- backer Christian Jones. Whenever coaches did that, Limongi implored them to check out Teddy, too. "He's a phenomenal athlete," Limongi said, when asked what his pitch to schools was. "He's very high-character. He's everything you want in a student- athlete." Some schools — notably USC — told Limongi, "Thanks, but no thanks." But Golden trusted Limongi, in part because he had coached star Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts at his previous stop. When the Irish did their homework on Teddy Rezac in May, they were sold. The recruitment came together quickly from there. "All these places called [after Rezac committed to Notre Dame] and said, 'We totally missed,'" DJ Rezac said. "Coach Limongi was like, 'You're too late.'" Anthony Rezac, on the other hand, first drew Notre Dame's eye when he received an offer from Yale. Kurt Rawl- ings, a graduate assistant with the Irish, was Yale's star quarterback from 2016- 19. He saw the offer and recognized him as Teddy Rezac's brother. That caught Notre Dame's attention, but the Irish weren't convinced to re- cruit him as a preferred walk-on until a Sept. 8 game against Bellevue West. Anthony out-dueled Nebraska quar- terback commit Daniel Kaelin, winning 45-12 and accounting for 5 touchdowns. His Irish offer came in later that month. "It worked out that Teddy's going there too, but I think if he hadn't gone there and the same opportunity came to me, I would have come to the same decision as I did," Anthony said. That decision, as was Teddy's, was fueled by a desire to win. Anthony would have had a much clearer path to playing time at Yale, Harvard or Colgate. Teddy would have, too, at most of the other schools that offered him. But they both decided on Notre Dame. "They hate to lose," DJ Rezac said of his sons. "They hate to lose. … Anthony and Teddy were like, 'We want to go to a place where we can win the national championship.'" That's what brought two twins who have been side by side for 18 years back together in South Bend. ✦ TEDDY REZAC LINEBACKER 6-3½ ∙ 185 WESTSIDE H.S. OMAHA, NEB. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 55 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 57 7 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 34 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 48 9 STATISTICS • Finished his prep career with 170 tackles and 10 interceptions. • As a senior, totaled 70 tackles (46 solo), 5 tack- les for loss, 4 interceptions and 8 passes broken up while helping lead Westside to the Nebraska Class A championship with a 13-0 record. Also recorded 12 catches for 146 yards with 2 touchdowns. • Notched 62 stops, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 interceptions during his junior season in which Westside also won a state title. NOTABLE • Earned Nebraska Prep Red Zone Class A All-State first-team defense, Lincoln Journal Star Nebraska Super-State first-team defense and The World-Her- ald's All-Nebraska football team honors in 2023. • His twin brother, Anthony, is walking on to the Notre Dame football program as a quarterback. • His father, DJ, was an all-state player for West- side High and played one year of football for the Indiana Hoosiers. • His older brother, Dominic, is a linebacker at Vanderbilt. • Also played baseball at Westside. RECRUITMENT • Committed to the Fighting Irish on May 12, 2023. • Will enroll at Notre Dame in the summer. • Signed with the Irish over offers from Boston College, Missouri, Nebraska and others. • Recruited by linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Al Golden. • Visited Notre Dame four times, including his official visit on June 9, 2023. 2024 PROJECTION • Is likely to redshirt as a true freshman. THEY SAID IT On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power: "Rezac is an interesting prospect. For starters, he plays on both sides of the ball for his high school team. He'll line up on all levels on the defense — he'll rush the passer, and play like a linebacker and deep safety. He's shown versatility and a breadth of skills at the high school level. "He plays offense, and you can see his ball skills and general playmaking ability, which is encour- aging. He can do a lot of different stuff. It's a cliché, but he's a pure football player in that re- spect. He's able to make plays in a lot of different facets." Blue & Gold Illustrated analyst Tim Hyde: "He's an athlete; that's the first thing. I didn't even look at his ranking. I like to watch the film first. He's a good football player. He can run, is long and a guy you have to pack some weight on because we assume they'll play him as a rover. He'll play a will-to-rover and be a hybrid guy. "There's plays on his film where he's playing down in the box on the edge and chasing from behind. He makes some outstanding plays as a wide receiver, too. He's a jack of all trades who plays multiple positions. He packs a punch and is not afraid to hit. He's an interesting football player; he can play."