Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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prep profiles Top-100 Recruit Adds Notre Dame Offer Newbury Park (Calif.) High offensive guard Zach Okun was walking to class Oct. 9 when he was stopped by his head coach for some good news. "He kind of snuck up on me on his golf cart and then let me know that Notre Dame wanted to offer me a scholarship," noted the 6-4, 310-pound recruit. "I have a bunch of Pac-12 offers, but I'd probably say that this is definitely my biggest offer. It's huge and I was excited." Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Denbrock recruits California for the Irish and is hoping to land Okun, who is one of the state's top offensive linemen in the class of 2015. 247Sports lists Okun as a four-star recruit, the No. 13 player in California, the No. 5 offensive guard in the land and the No. 98 overall prospect nationally in the junior class. "I met Coach Denbrock. He was with my coach, and that was pretty cool," Okun said. "He seems like a good guy. I gave Coach Denbrock a call later that day, and we talked a little more. I like him a lot, and we'll continue talking and go from there. "He told me he likes me at all three offensive line positions and said I could probably be a really good guard or center." Okun admits that he doesn't know too much about Notre Dame at this point, but he is planning on doing some research to learn more about the school. Zach Okun ✪✪✪✪ Newbury Park High School Newbury Park, Calif. Status: Offered Class: Junior Position: Offensive Guard Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 310 40-Yard Dash: 4.90 247Sports Rankings: No. 13 prospect in California, No. 5 offensive guard in the nation and No. 98 overall junior in the country The little he does know came from a movie made 20 years ago. "I've seen the movie 'Rudy' plenty of times, and that's probably the only thing I really know about the school," Okun said. "I like them because of that. I'll keep researching them and then I'll actually see them when they go on the road to play Air Force. "My brother plays football for the Air Force Academy, so that'll be my first chance to watch them. I'll watch Notre Dame a little more that game. I may end up at Notre Dame, but I'm pretty sure I won't end up at Air Force. "I know that the school has a great tradition of winning and there is really something special about it. I also know the academics are impressive, and that's really important to me." Okun has offers from seven Pac-12 schools, among others. — Tom Loy