Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/621849
BY ANDREW IVINS Greer (S.C.) High three-star corner- back Troy Pride thought his recruit- ment was all but over the spring be- fore his senior season when he gave a verbal pledge to play at Virginia Tech. Pride said at the time that he felt com- fortable with what the Hokies had to offer as both a football program and school. But little did he know things would change — and fast. Notre Dame offered Pride in June. Then in November, just a month af- ter he took and official visit to South Bend for the USC game with his fam- ily, longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer announced that he was retiring. That set the stage for what Pride said was a difficult decision to re-open his recruitment. Ultimately, that left him with the easy choice to commit to the Irish. "I just felt that Notre Dame was the best fit for me," Pride said Dec. 24, the day he committed. "The combination of academics and athletics is very in- triguing, and that's what led me to making my decision. "I felt that Notre Dame was the best fit for me," he added. "Obviously, on the football field, through their differ- ent schemes that they run and talking with the coaches, but as well as having the opportunity to compete for a high- class degree. It's unique." Pride, who is ranked by Rivals as the No. 6 prospect in South Carolina and the No. 32 cornerback in the country, is known because of his size on the boundary at 6-0, 165 pounds, but what really made him a priority for the Irish is his speed. The Palmetto State native, who has been clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40- yard dash, won a Class 3A boys state title in the 400-meter dash as a junior with a time of 48.02. "He's a guy with a lot of skills, size, Notre Dame Lands Speedy Cornerback COMMITMENT PROFILE TROY PRIDE SCVarstiy.com, a Rivals.com site covering high school sports in South Carolina, named Pride to its 2015 all-classifications all-state first team. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM