Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 APRIL 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE SINGER Notre Dame's 2025 class went on a roll in the month of February, landing four new commitments. On Feb. 20, Greenwich (Conn.) Bruns- wick School offensive tackle Matty Au- gustine announced his pledge to the Fighting Irish. Augustine earned an offer from Notre Dame last June after standing out at the Lineman's Challenge camp in South Bend and has been a frequent visitor since. He most recently made it back to campus Jan. 20 for junior day, a turning point in his recruitment. His first visit to campus occurred last spring before he had the scholarship offer, and he felt back then that Notre Dame was the place to be. "Right when I stepped on campus for the first time last April, I felt a sense of belonging and family," Augustine told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "I grew up going to a small, private school at Brunswick my whole life. There are a lot of similar- ities between the two schools. They're both small and have a family feel. "I love that familiarity, and the ac- ademics at Notre Dame are amazing. Coach [Marcus] Freeman says it's not a four-year decision, it's a 40-year deci- sion. Notre Dame has the best coaching staff in America with Coach Freeman leading it, and Coach [ Joe] Rudolph does an amazing job with the guys in his room. I love the way he coaches his guys on and off the field and the chemistry in the offensive line room." There were other schools in the mix — including Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford and Texas A&M — but Notre Dame and Wisconsin were at the top of Augustine's list for much of his recruitment. He visited both schools in late January on back-to-back weekends. Even going into his Jan. 27 visit to Wisconsin, he felt that Notre Dame was going to be the school he'd choose, but he wanted one last trip to Madison to be able to compare the universities. "I took both visits, and then Coach Fre e m a n c a m e to my s c h o o l [ t h e Monday after the Wisconsin trip] and met with Ethan [Long] and me for an hour. That night, I got on the phone with Coach Freeman and had another h o u r - l o n g c o n ve rs a t i o n , t a l k i n g through everything. "There was one thing he said on that phone call that really made me want to commit. He talked about the decision he made a few years ago when he had the chance to go to LSU, which had all the glitz and glamour of an SEC school, but he knew the whole time that Notre Dame was right. And that's something that I was going through." Augustine was in awe of what Wis- consin had to offer and loved the sur- rounding city, but in his gut, he knew Notre Dame was the right fit for him. "That's what got me — thinking about things that most 17-year-old kids don't think about — what a school can do for you after college," he said. Augustine is tight with Long, a Notre Dame commit who also stars at Bruns- wick School, and who lives at Augus- tine's home during the school week. "I've seen how much happier he's been since he committed to Notre Dame — knowing that he's going to a place that he really loves," Augustine said. "He was really excited when I told him I was committing. He's super stoked." Augustine, who stands at 6-foot-7, notes that he ended the football season around 275 to 280 pounds and surpris- ingly has added some mass during his basketball season. He reports that he weighs in at about 285 to 290 pounds. "With my background of playing bas- ketball, I'm athletic for my size," Au- gustine said. "The Notre Dame coaches love that about me." Augustine was named to the All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Council first team and was New Eng- land Prep Football Conference first- team all-league for his efforts in 2023. He was a second-team all-league per- former as a sophomore in 2022. Augustine is ranked as the No. 4 re- cruit in Connecticut and the No. 33 of- fensive tackle in the country by On3. ✦ Offensive Tackle Finds 'Sense Of Belonging And Family' At Notre Dame COMMITMENT PROFILE MATTY AUGUSTINE Augustine, the No. 33 offensive tackle nationally according to On3, committed to the Fighting Irish over Wisconsin in February. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER FILM ANALYSIS "Matty Augustine brings great length, excel- lent footwork and work ethic to the recruiting table. Despite his great height, he's able to bend and consistently win the leverage battle. He can play tackle on either side of the line, shows good use of his hands and has really improved his ability to slide and mirror. "Once Augustine locks onto a defender, he stays with them until the whistle. He has enough quickness and lateral speed to handle edge rushers, keeps his feet moving and does a good job getting under the pads of the de- fender. He has become a national recruit." — Prep Football Report recruiting analyst Tom Lemming "Right when I stepped on campus for the first time last April, I felt a sense of belong- ing and family. I grew up going to a small, private school at Brunswick [in Greenwich, Conn.] my whole life. There are a lot of similarities between the two schools. They're both small and have a family feel." AUGUSTINE ON NOTRE DAME