Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 NOV. 16, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY W hen Notre Dame head coach Mar- cus Freeman said his program will recruit nationally, he meant it. Sometimes, nationally means going right up US-31, cutting over to I-94 West and following Michigan Highway M-40 to a town of about 5,000 people for one of the top offensive line recruits in the 2026 class. Allegan, Mich., is home to Sullivan Garvin, the latest offensive line recruit to report a full-ride scholarship offer from the Fighting Irish. On Sept. 28, the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Garvin unofficially visited campus for the Louisville game and left with an op- portunity to continue his football career in South Bend. About a year ago, that outcome would have been unlikely — especially for a kid from Allegan. Allegan doesn't have much besides the haunted restaurant that his grand- parents own, the city's giant water tower and the two Speedway gas sta- tions planted less than three-quarters of a mile apart, with the city's high school serving as the middle ground. The only people the city seems to produce are past politicians and obscure MLB pitchers. But now, it can say its high school houses one of the top pros- pects in the nation. Specifically, On3's No. 5 recruit in Michigan and No. 25 in- terior offensive lineman nationally in the class of 2026. HOW GARVIN IS HELPING TO PUT HIS SMALL TOWN ON THE MAP Since last spring, Allegan went from being a ghost town to welcoming foot traffic from some of the nation's top offensive line coaches. Among them are Indiana's Bob Bostad and Notre Dame's Joe Rudolph, two experts who discov- ered Garvin after he posted his sopho- more season highlights. Each burned one of their staff's allotted 168 evaluation days to stop by Garvin's high school last spring. Bostad ended up offering on July 4. Rudolph formally en- tered the mix after the first five games of Garvin's junior season Sept. 28. Those offers immediately placed Garvin in an unfamiliar position for Al- legan coach Tony Danzig. In Danzig's four years as head coach, no recruits have signed with a Division I school. In fact, the only one to have done so in the internet recruiting era — which dates back to 2002 — was 2013 two-star defensive back Gary Jones, who ended up at Central Michigan. Now, with a recruit like Garvin roam- ing the hallways of Allegan High, Danzig welcomes the attention the recruitment of his star player brings regularly. "I'm very open with people coming and visiting Sully, so the kids know you have an opportunity as well," Danzig said. "They're looking at the tape. They can find you on it, too. It's been great for the kids and the community. Every- body's on board." While no other players from the school have emerged to have a profile like Garvin, the football program has already reaped the benefits of the spot- light their star recruit has placed on it. Danzig said the football program dou- bled from 25 players to 50 this season. He also said that on Oct. 4, they welcomed more than 1,000 fans at their stadium for a game for the first time. That type of attention is a credit to Garvin. "I attribute a lot of that to Sully and being a captain of our team," Danzig said. "He's doing it the right way." Garvin has also felt the extra eyes on him, especially after adding Notre Dame to his offer sheet last month. "People in the hallways have been congratulating me," he said. "Like after I posted a graphic Notre Dame sent, I came out of my second hour [class], and three people saw it and congratulated me. "I've definitely noticed [the atten- tion]. It's definitely exciting. It's all brand new. No one in my family has done this, so it's all brand new for us." WHERE THE FIGHTING IRISH STAND IN GARVIN'S RECRUITMENT Since Garvin announced his Notre Dame offer on social media Sept. 28, he has experienced an uptick in interest from college programs. On Oct. 1, Washington offered him a scholarship. He has scheduled game- day visits to Cincinnati, Michigan, Pur- due and Minnesota, and hopes to add an offer from those schools. Kansas offered him after he attended its game against Houston Oct. 19. Garvin also plans to return to Notre Dame for the Virginia game Nov. 16. That visit will be a key marker in his college football recruitment. "After the offer, you definitely want to go back and see it again," he said. "I want to make my mind up. I want to get my top schools in order." Garvin said he would like to have his choice college picked out sometime "soon" after his junior season. No further timetable was offered other than he would not decide during his senior season. Though Garvin also did not name any favorites to land his pledge, Notre Dame has his attention because of its proxim- ity to home and small student body. His connection with Rudolph is especially key because it brings his status as a na- tional recruit right back down to where he came from — Allegan. "Every time he texts me, he's always like, 'Tell your mom and dad I said hello,'" Garvin said. "That's what he al- ways says. It's just like a family. That's the most significant thing I noticed. … He's a really nice guy who wants to build a family there. I can definitely feel it." ✦ F O O T B A L L RECRUITING Offensive Line Recruit Sullivan Garvin Is Drawing Major Attention Notre Dame became the second Power Four pro- gram to offer Garvin, who is rated by On3 as the No. 5 prospect in Michigan and the No. 25 inte- rior offensive lineman in the country in the class of 2026. He has received increased attention from other high-major schools. PHOTO COURTESY ON3