Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 SUMMER 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY Kobe Clapper's football instincts finally worked in Notre Dame's favor. On May 2, the three-star linebacker from Cincinnati St. Xavier announced his verbal commitment to the Fighting Irish. Clapper is one of the top prospects in the 2026 class. According to On3's rankings, he is the No. 20 recruit in Ohio and the No. 30 linebacker in the country. Irish linebackers coach Max Bullough o f fe re d t h e 6 - fo o t -2 , 19 5 - p o u n d Clapper a scholarship March 17 of his sophomore year during the program's St. Patrick's Day-themed Pot of Gold Day recruiting event. Over the past 14 months, Clapper has unofficially visited campus four times. Those periodic trips to South Bend confirmed that no university was bet- ter suited for him than Notre Dame. By the time of Friday's announcement, he had felt for weeks that the Irish were his future. However, he needed to complete a multi-day visit to Oregon at the end of April before solidifying his decision. That visit only affirmed what he already knew: Notre Dame was the right choice. "I realized being out there that it did not feel like Notre Dame," Clapper told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "Even though Notre Dame is three and a half to four hours away, it just feels like home." Clapper received offers from 18 other Power Four programs before commit- ting to the Irish. He also visited Louis- ville this spring and has toured Cincin- nati, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan and Wisconsin. Clapper's first visit to Eugene, Ore., was revealing. It underscored Notre Dame's appeal to him. Still, he refrained from making a hasty decision. Yet, the connection between Notre Dame and Clap- per was natural. St. Xavier, an all- boys Jesuit Catho- lic high school in Cincinnati, shares similarities with Notre Dame that will make the tran- sition seamless. "It definitely makes it easy that I go to a Catholic school," he said. "The educa- tion was also a big part with me and my mom. Everybody says it, 'You get four years of football, but you get 40 years of education.' That Notre Dame education takes you very far. "You can't play football forever. [St. Xavier] Coach [Steve] Specht always says that. You have to have a degree. That was also a very big part of it." A f te r v i s i t i n g t h e c a m p u s fo u r t i m e s, Clapper was impressed by Notre Dame's cul- ture, which felt like home. " W h e n y o u t a l k about culture, it sounds broad, but the coaches and staff are genuinely bought into to the play- ers," he said. "Every time I've been there, I've loved it more and more. It's a place I know I can thrive for three or four years." The on-field fit was just as evident. In 14 games last sea- son, Clapper recorded 103 tackles (53 solo), 11 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 fumble recov- eries, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes broken up while playing multiple positions. Bullough and defensive coordinator Chris Ash envision him in a similar role. "They love my versatility," said Clap- per, an Ohio Division I (largest schools) first-team all-state selection at de- fensive back last season. "Right now, I'm playing safety/linebacker hybrid in high school. They were like, 'That ver- satility is going to be able to put you in different positions.' But definitely more of a middle line- backer is what they see me at." With his recruitment behind him, Clapper is focusing on his senior sea- son. He'll return to Notre Dame for his official visit June 20, his only remaining recruiting trip. "Summer is starting to come up for football this year," he said. " I just wanted to get this stress out of my mind. That's why I wanted to commit. … It's been a long time coming with Notre Dame. This is the place I wanted to be." ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE KOBE CLAPPER Notre Dame Is A Perfect Match For Ohio Linebacker Clapper recorded 103 tackles (53 solo), 11 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes broken up while playing multiple positions last season for St. Xavier, an all-boys Jesuit Catholic high school in Cincinnati. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 FILM ANALYSIS "[Kobe Clapper] is very mature for his age. He plays with great energy. He's very smart. His football IQ is off the chart. All of those ele- ments are needed to help the younger kids. He's very gifted, physically. "God gave him talent. He's 6-foot-2. He's long, he can run and he can jump. You have to have that. The biggest thing that separates Kobe is his football IQ. He sees things before they happen." — St. Xavier coach Steve Specht "Every time I've been there, I've loved it more and more. It's a place I know I can thrive for three or four years." CLAPPER ON NOTRE DAME