Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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PREP PROFILES Leipsic (Ohio) High School offen- sive tackle Gavin Cupp may have grown up a fan of Ohio State, but it's Notre Dame that has his attention. The 6-4, 280-pound recruit from the class of 2016 has made three trips to South Bend dating back to the summer leading up to his junior season, including a visit to watch Notre Dame take o n L o u i s v i l l e Nov. 22. "It was pretty awesome," Cupp said. "It was re- ally special. I was there early in the summer and then re t u r n e d a f e w w e e k s l a t e r f o r camp. Those trips were fun, and it was good to com- pete. "This trip was different, though. It was great being at a game and just seeing Notre Dame play for the first time in person." Two days prior to his Notre Dame visit, Cupp was in Morgantown, W.Va., for the West Virginia-Kansas State game. He noticed a few simi- larities between both places. "The West Virginia trip was pretty cool," Cupp said. "It's a lot like Notre Dame. They both had crazy, rowdy fans. There really isn't a pro team around the schools, and the fans treat this like it's their NFL team. They're just really passionate, and they seem fun to play for." However, according to Cupp, very little beats gameday in South Bend. "You can just tell that there is so much tradition at Notre Dame, and the atmosphere around the school is hard to top," Cupp said. "It's just a great place to see a game and go to school. I'm hoping they of- fer soon. I'm sup- posed to talk to [ g r a d u a t e a s s i s - tant] coach Kyle McCarthy about that soon." Cupp holds of- fers from Bowl- ing Green, Illinois, Toledo and West Virginia. However, the Ohio native believes that some big schools could offer soon. "I've been talking to Notre Dame a lot and get a lot of mail from them," he said. "Ohio State and Michigan State are two others that send a lot of mail. They have been recruiting me really hard. "I even got some mail from Florida State. That would be another big of- fer." — Tom Loy Irish On The Mind Of Buckeye State Lineman GAVIN CUPP Leipsic High School Leipsic, Ohio Status: Interested Class: 2016 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-4 · Wt.: 280 40-Yard Dash: 4.96 247Sports Rankings: Cur- rently unranked