Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/499410
BY ANDREW IVINS Julian Love has always liked Notre Dame. A picture of a baby-faced Love sporting a blue and gold jersey under a North Face jacket at a Notre Dame game seven years ago provides the evi- dence. So when the LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy three-star corner- back took an unofficial visit to South Bend Feb. 24 and left campus without a scholarship offer from the Irish, he didn't panic. No, he instead believed in fate. Love, who also held scholarship of- fers from Rutgers, Northwestern, Iowa, Illinois, Iowa State and Boston College, knew that Notre Dame liked him, but he just had to wait for things to fall into place. That moment came just a few weeks later when Love returned to campus for Notre Dame's Junior Day March 21. He arrived with his family and was given red-carpet treatment by the Irish. He toured campus, he tried on a jersey and he walked out onto the field. It was an experience that he claims he'll never forget, and one that made the decision to commit to Notre Dame easy. Before the visit was over, Love was pulled into head coach Brian Kel- ly's office and offered a scholarship. It was an opportunity that he simply couldn't pass up at his dream school. "I just love everything about Notre Dame," Love said. "The history, the campus, the coaches –– everything." Love, who is ranked by Rivals as the No. 10 prospect in Illinois and the No. 30 cornerback in the country for the class of 2016, is what many would con- sider a "program guy," and that's what makes him the ideal prospect for the Irish. Notre Dame has targeted athletes that fit the mold of a well-rounded stu- dent-athlete the past couple of recruit- ing cycles, and Love is just that. The 5-11, 175-pound cornerback played the role of Donkey in the musical "Shrek" last year and is taking advanced place- ment classes in high school. "You wouldn't know he's a star foot- Plenty Of Love: Illinois CB Wanted To Be Irish COMMITMENT PROFILE JULIAN LOVE Love is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 10 pros- pect in Illinois and the No. 30 cornerback in the nation. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS