Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/462058
2015 RECRUITING ISSUE Everyone there, he believes, is a Fighting Irish fan. Thus, when he travels around town it is not unusual for him to be stopped for a picture request. Barajas is one of four Indiana natives to ink with the Irish in the class of 2015. As a result, he feels the local pressure to perform and represent the home state in the Notre Dame uniform. He also knows as well as anyone the tradition of the program. "I just believe Notre Dame is a one-of- a-kind school," he said. "It has charac- teristics that no other school has." Barajas is determined to find a way to get on the field this fall and make the locals proud. "If it's special teams, then I am going to bust my butt for that," he said. "I just want to be on the field and make an impact." He also has a plan, with the blessing of defensive coordinator and lineback- ers coach Brian VanGorder, to use his proximity to campus in his favor. "Being only an hour away, I expect after signing day to be up almost every other weekend," he said. "Coach Van- Gorder said I can sit in on meetings and sit in with the team as much as I can, watch practice and be able to hit the ground running, spend as much time as I can up there being so close. "My school doesn't allow us to gradu- ate early, but I think being so close will help me get on the field early and be a huge advantage to me." There is a reason why Barajas has that drive to get on the field with a gold hel- met, one that hit home when he signed. "It's going to be something that I thought was never possible," he con- cluded. "It's here, and it's like, 'Wow, I did it.' " ✦