Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
FOOTBALL RECRUITING sophomore linebacker Austin Larkin, the son of 1985 Irish captain and linebacker Mike Larkin. The younger Larkin had an opportunity to enroll at Coastal Carolina to play football before the preferred walk-on opportunity arose. The best preferred walk-on story is senior line- backer Joe Schmidt, who was placed on scholarship as a junior in 2013 and was voted the team MVP in 2014. Kelly said last year the preferred walk-ons provide quality depth in practice, which cannot be undervalued. "That is so important that I can have a demo squad that I can put there that can help us prepare for the team that we're playing that week," he said. "Sometimes [it used to be] better if I just put an orange cone out there. Now we've got some guys that can actually help us prepare, and we need to continue to develop that as we move forward." Feist and Hutson both had an opportunity to play at the Air Force Academy on scholarship, but their Notre Dame ties were too strong to bypass the chance to enroll with the Irish. Feist, a South Dakota all-state player at St. Thomas More, also had an option to be a preferred walk-on at Oregon, but his mother Suzanne is a 1992 Notre Dame Law School graduate, and he has a sister currently attending Notre Dame. Hutson's father, Tim, was a first baseman at Notre Dame from 1986-88, and in his senior season he hit 18 home runs (second most in a season for the Irish) and drove in 74 runs (sixth on the single- season list). The son was a three-year starter at Harper Creek (linebacker and tight end/running back in 2014), and as a senior he recorded a team- high 94 tackles (eight for loss) and three interceptions, plus averaged 28.9 yards on his nine catches. "All my life I wanted to go to Notre Dame and play football, so when I had the choice to do that, it was tough to turn down," Hutson told the Battle Creek Enquirer. "Air Force is also a great opportunity, but I really thought Notre Dame was the place for me." Spruell is the son of 1987 Notre Dame co-captain/offensive tackle Byron Spruell, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering before receiving his MBA. He is the top executive in Delotte LLP's Chicago prac- tice. The elder Spruell moved to the Windy City and lived there in 2014, while his family stayed in New Jersey so Devyn, who could have attended Lafayette, would finish his high school senior season there. Finally, Regan was the signal-caller at Hindsdale South, which features one of Notre Dame's most cov- eted 2016 football targets in 6-6, 230-pound defensive end Josh King. — Lou Somogyi Notre Dame will add a minimum of four preferred walk-ons to its roster this offseason, including Darien, Ill., 6-2, 200-pound quarterback Robert Regan. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM