Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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PREP PROFILES BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 28, 2024 45 In the 2026 recruiting cycle, Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph is focusing on interior O-line prospects. One player on his radar is Detroit Cath- olic Central standout Benjamin Eziuka. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Eziuka has 11 scholarship offers to date. He has un- officially visited Notre Dame four times, including to work with Rudolph dur- ing the Irish Invasion camp June 2. Al- though he didn't add a Fighting Irish of- fer that day, he did receive an invitation to attend the program's home opener against Northern Illinois. Like his previous three trips to South Bend, he accepted it without hesitation or reservation. His persistence paid off with a pregame conversation with Rudolph. "[Rudolph] was telling me that I re- ally impressed him at camp with how much I improved from last year," Eziuka said. "He was watching my sophomore film the day before and really liked my explosiveness. He said I ran a really good pro agility, and not many people can move like me." The Irish offensive line has a few players like Eziuka who can move. Despite the loss to NIU, the Irish av- eraged 4.4 yards per carry. Still, they surrendered 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Eziuka chalked those mistakes up to inexperience. "I knew they weren't going to be per- fect," he said. "They started the game very strong and then got into a lull dur- ing the middle. But towards the end, they started to pick it back up again, which I liked to see. … "I believe I saw something that said [three] of the guys were all making their first starts this year. So, I definitely ex- pect them to start dominating as they gain chemistry together." This season, Eziuka eyes visits to Tennessee, Penn State, Wisconsin and Kansas. So far, the Nittany Lions are the only program among that group to have offered him a scholarship. But Rudolph's feedback suggests one from Notre Dame — and others — could be on the way. "He thinks my best film is ahead of me," Eziuka said. "He said my personal- ity and demeanor fit Notre Dame per- fectly. We'll talk after the season when he watches my junior season film." In the meantime, he has a standing invitation to visit Notre Dame any time he wants. "Coach Rudolph said to come back anytime," Eziuka said. "So, I'll likely come back for another game this year because I don't think what was dis- played [against NIU] was a good repre- sentation of what kind of team they are." — Kyle Kelly After Westfield (Ind.) High safety Deacon King competed in Notre Dame football's Irish Invasion camp June 2, On3's No. 2 junior recruit in Indiana left with an invitation to attend the pro- gram's home opener. For the next three months, returning to campus remained on his mind. So, the 6-foot-1, 197-pounder took the neces- sary steps to ensure he still had a ticket. "I texted [Notre Dame high school re- lations analyst] Deland McCullough II to make sure I could still come up," King said. "They wanted me to come up to their first home game." It marked King's fourth time visit- ing the Fighting Irish in a recruiting ca- pacity. The other three times On3's No. 41 safety in the class made it to South Bend, it had been for high school foot- ball prospect camps. Attending a game day provided a fresh perspective. "I really liked the atmosphere," he said. "Obviously, I've been to Purdue, but [the Notre Dame game] was really the biggest game I've been to. I went to Louisville last year as well. The at- mosphere at Notre Dame, the student section and all the fans in general were really intense." Although NIU upset the Irish on their home turf, King was still impressed by Notre Dame's defensive backs play. "They did pretty good defensively," he said. "Looking at how they used their DBs, rolling them down and playing dif- ferent coverages, I really liked how they used the position." King paid close attention to Notre Dame safeties Adon Shuler and Xavier Watts. The latter finished with a game- high 6 solo tackles. "They rolled down a lot in the first quarter and blitzed their safeties," he said. "Then, they had one of them pull back and play a little more pass coverage." The Westfield Shamrocks require King to operate his position similarly on Friday nights. Through three games, he had 12 tackles (0.5 for loss), 1 intercep- tion and 1 fumble recovery. In the meantime, he hopes his camp performance and his junior season game tape lead to an Irish offer. If so, they would be a team to watch for his even- tual verbal commitment. "That would be really special," he said. "They've been really high on my list even though they haven't offered me. That's a school I've liked before they started talking to me. I really like their football team. That's one of my favorite teams." — Kyle Kelly Irish Tracking 2026 Offensive Lineman Following Latest Visit Notre Dame Remains In Good Standing With In-State Star BENJAMIN EZIUKA No star rating yet Detroit Catholic Central H.S. Detroit Status: Not offered Class: 2026 Position: Interior offensive line Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 290 On3 Rankings: Not ranked yet DEACON KING ✪ ✪ ✪ Westfield H.S. Westfield, Ind. Status: Not offered Class: 2026 Position: Safety Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 197 On3 Rankings: No. 2 player in Indiana and No. 41 safety nationally