Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/259072
Kelly said. "He's got a couple of sis- ters, one at UConn, one at St. John's, so the family really understands about college and getting a great education. It was a really good fit in getting Peter here at Notre Dame." ✦ PETEMOKWUAH DEFENSIVE TACKLE 6-4 · 315 ST. JOSEPH BY-THE-SEA H.S. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 51 8 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 71 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ — — 6 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 66 5 MEASURABLES • Bench presses 300 pounds, squats 500 and dead lifts 550. STATISTICS • Recorded 75 tackles, 14 behind the line of scrim- mage and seven sacks as a senior. HONORS • Named first-team all-city and honorable mention all-metro by MSG Varsity as a senior. • One of 10 picks on New York Daily News Catholic High School Football League/Private all-star team in 2013. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Selected for the United Healthcare Empire Chal- lenge, a June all-star game between New York City and Long Island standouts benefitting Boomer Esiason Foundation and New York area youth foot- ball. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Jan. 24, 2014. • Originally committed to Rutgers on May 1, 2013. Was offered by Notre Dame on Jan. 17. He also received offers from Connecticut and Temple. • Primarily recruited by defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder and secondarily recruited by de- fensive line coach Mike Elston. • Made his official visit to Notre Dame on Jan. 31, 2014, one week after committing to the Irish. NOTABLE • Undecided on major. • His uncle, Gabe Mokwuah, played defensive tackle at American International and was an 11th- round selection of the Green Bay Packers in the 1992 NFL Draft. 2014 PROJECTION • Potential contributor on the interior of the de- fensive line next fall. THEY SAID IT Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly: "He goes to a Catholic school. That profile fit very well for us. He's a kid that's serious about his academics here at Notre Dame." Tom Lemming Of Prep Football Report: "He's a work in progress. He's a guy that's got size and an aggressive attitude, but not yet the finished prod- uct. He wasn't their first choice, but a lot of times the guys that aren't Notre Dame's first choice wind up as All-Americans. They like the fact that he can occupy blockers, he's not a pass rusher. That's what the 3-4 defense is all about." St. Joseph By-The-Sea Head Coach Richard Clark: "They offered him, and he was going back and forth on what to do the whole week. I think once he met with Coach Kelly [he was comfortable with Notre Dame], and then obviously the school speaks for itself." Mokwuah On Why He Chose Notre Dame: "I was speechless for a couple of seconds [after receiving the Notre Dame offer], but then I was like, 'Yeah, let's dig into this.' As soon as Coach Clark men- tioned to me that they were interested I started thinking about it. Then Coach [Brian] VanGorder came and saw me, and that clarified a lot of things. Coach Kelly came in and that solidified it."