Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2024 41 BY KYLE KELLY One Notre Dame visit is all it took for 2025 wide receiver Shaun Terry to shut down his college football recruitment. On Feb. 18, four weeks after the three- star prospect's first trip to South Bend, the Ironton (Ohio) High junior pledged to the Fighting Irish. "The faith they have in me is what re- ally stood out," Terry told On3's Hayes Fawcett of his decision to verbally com- mit to Notre Dame. "And the love the coaching staff shows. I've had a great relationship with [wide receivers] Coach [Mike] Brown for about a year now, and I put all my faith in him." Terry is On3's No. 22 recruit in Ohio and No. 115 wide receiver nationally. The 5-foot-10, 165-pounder chose the Irish over 20 offers from ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC schools. Michi- gan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Southern California and Wisconsin were among the schools that gave him a scholarship opportunity. Ole Miss offered Terry on Feb. 20. Brown offered Terry back on Sept. 28 when he was an assistant with the Bad- gers. He was one of the first Power Five coaches to give the Buckeye State pass- catcher an offer, which mattered to Terry. "It's definitely important," Terry told Blue & Gold Illustrated on Jan. 28. "He was one of the first to believe in me. That means a lot to me." Brown offered Terry a scholarship to Notre Dame on Jan. 20, the day he visited campus for the first time. Terry was one of 12 Irish recruiting targets in town that day. Terry excelled during his junior sea- son. In 12 games, he had 27 catches for 525 yards (19.4 yards per reception) and 9 touchdowns. Ironton also utilized him as a gadget player, getting him the ball 28 times for another 391 yards and 5 scores in the run game. The Ohio Prep Sportswriters Asso- ciation named Terry first-team all-state in Division V for his efforts as a wide receiver. He also earned a spot on the All-Ohio Valley Conference first team. Terry is also an effective returner. He took back 18 punts for 570 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 31.7 yards per return were more than 10 yards greater than the FBS leader in 2023, USC's Zachariah Branch (20.8 yards). Terry also returned 6 kicks for 131 yards. His 21.8 yards per return would have ended up 38th na- tionally in the FBS. Besides "Scary Terry" terrorizing op- posing defenses, he was a menace for opposing offenses. He had 32 total stops (17 solo), 7 tackles for loss, 6 passes bro- ken up, 5 fumble recoveries and 3 inter- ceptions this past fall. In addition to Terry, the Irish secured a verbal commitment at wide receiver from Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic's Elijah Burress Feb. 10. The 6-0, 170-pounder is a three-star that On3 considers the No. 13 prospect in New Jersey and the No. 55 wide receiver in the country. Terry is a true slot wide receiver, while Burress projects as a reliable No. 2. Notre Dame looks to sign as many as five high school wide receivers in the 2025 recruiting cycle. When Terry signs with the Irish next December, he will be the first wide re- ceiver the program has added from Ohio since Lorenzo Styles Jr. in the 2021 class. Styles was On3's No. 2 prospect in Ohio, and No. 4 wide receiver and No. 33 over- all player in the 2021 cycle. ✦ Ohio Receiver Takes Little Time To Pick The Irish COMMITMENT PROFILE SHAUN TERRY Terry, the No. 22 prospect in Ohio and the No. 115 wide receiver in the country per On3, committed to Notre Dame following his first trip to campus. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY "The faith they have in me is what really stood out. And the love the coaching staff shows. I've had a great relationship with [wide receivers] Coach [Mike] Brown for about a year now, and I put all my faith in him." TERRY FILM ANALYSIS "You watch Shaun Terry's film, and it's like a video game. It's like he's playing pinball out there. He's bouncing all over the place. This guy can catch the bubble [screen pass], make a move and go. He can run, cut, plant and accelerate. This kid's got a lot of skills. I don't care if he plays in the lowest level, the highest level, six-man football or three on three on the [basketball] court — it doesn't matter; he's got skills. "He has ball skills. Some years, Notre Dame signs certain types of wide receivers who will catch curls, outs and things of that nature. But when you watch playoff football, there's a dude that can catch the hitch and go. Notre Dame has not had those dudes in a long time. Terry is one of those guys." — BlueandGold.com analyst Tim Hyde