Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 DECEMBER 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY T he scoreboard was no longer relevant to Gregory Patrick. That appeared evident when the touted 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive line recruit's fam- ily crowded him after Portage (Mich.) Northern coach Kurt Twichell finished his lengthy postgame speech. About 15 minutes earlier on that un- usually warm Southwestern Michigan night Oct. 11, Patrick and the Huskies suffered a frustrating 23-6 loss to cross- town rival Portage Central. The visitors kept the top junior foot- ball recruit in the state and his team's offense on the home sideline for an ab- normal amount of time. Portage Central runs the flexbone-veer option offense, which is effective at chewing up the clock, perhaps more than anything else. When Patrick did get his looks at left tackle, he displayed his athleticism, strength and technique, showing why he is prized by the Fighting Irish and 18 other Power Four programs. He paved the way for his team's rushers to rack up big gains while keeping the Huskies' quarterback upright. However, once the scoreboard clock struck triple zeros, Patrick's game and all the schools recruiting him because of it became irrelevant. His family standing beside him was most impor- tant then. The attention he gave them proved it. Patrick did not grimace when photos were arranged for him with his grand- parents, siblings and parents. There was a group photo, too. He also did not shy away from answering their questions about the game. After all, he gets them about his recruitment from almost ev- eryone regularly. Even at this stage of his football career, Patrick knows how to handle the atten- tion. And when it comes from his family, he welcomes it. The parallels run true when it comes to his recruitment, too. Few high school football players na- tionwide are as coveted as Patrick. Ac- cording to On3's rankings, Patrick is the No. 1 prospect in Michigan, and the No. 7 interior offensive lineman and the No. 90 overall player nationally in the 2026 class. HIS RECRUITMENT On April 20, 2023, Central Michigan was the first school to offer Patrick — six days after Notre Dame welcomed him on campus as an unoffered prospect for an unofficial visit for the first time. Since then, 22 others have entered the mix, including the Irish. Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph for- mally offered Patrick during the pro- gram's St. Patrick's Day-themed Pot of Gold Day recruiting event March 17 of this year. Patrick has reported about 30 unof- ficial college recruiting visits between nine schools. The in-state Spartans have hosted him at least nine times. Be- fore his college football recruitment of- ficially began, Patrick was already mak- ing trips to East Lansing, Mich. His dad, Joseph Patrick, played for Michigan State in the early 2000s. Gregory wasn't around yet. However, he has learned plenty about his father's football career growing up. As for the overlap between their respective re- cruitments, there isn't much besides them both coming from Michigan (Jo- seph is from Ithaca) and being coveted by the Spartans. Still, just because Joseph played for Michigan State doesn't mean he has in- fluenced Patrick's decision to go that route. "He definitely gives me advice, but it's not like he's trying to push me to one school or another," Patrick told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "He's very, very open about anything. He played at Michigan State, but he'll go to Michigan and Notre Dame with me. "He's definitely helping guide me through the process. I'm extremely grateful he went through that experi- ence. He has knowledge and is helping me with some of that stuff." Family Matters To Four-Star Offensive Lineman Gregory Patrick Patrick, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound offensive linemen from Portage (Mich.) Northern, favors the Fighting Irish despite family connections to Michigan State and Nebraska. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER F O O T B A L L RECRUITING