Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2016 RECRUITING ISSUE tures of star wide receiver Will Fuller and veteran Chris Brown to the NFL. "He's a guy that I think could play inside or outside for them," Rivals na- tional recruiting director Mike Farrell said. "He's got that versatility — and he's a big get from California. He's got speed that's coveted out in the Pac-12, and I think he's going to make them a better football team. "It was a bit of a surprise," Farrell quickly added. "He took that visit to Oregon and loved it, so for him to pick them after that, it's a good job of re- cruiting by them." And Farrell is right. Throughout much of the recruiting process McKinley was considered a long shot to ink with the Irish. With offers on the table from almost every Pac-12 school, and UCLA just an hour drive from Centennial High, it looked like McKinley was destined to play football close to home and near his family. But then Notre Dame –– and Sanford –– started to show him and his mom the total package. McKinley, who holds a 4.1 grade- point average and received recruiting mail from the likes of Harvard and other Ivy League schools, met with Notre Dame's academic support staff during an official visit the weekend the USC game Oct. 17. He not only got a tour of the Mendoza College of Busi- ness, but also had time to get his ques- tions answered about life as a student- athlete answered. It turned out to be a meet and greet that helped sell mom on the Irish. "She really liked all of the schools," McKinley said. "She was kind of against me at first going away for school, but she finally realized that I was going to have to go away for col- lege to get what I wanted done and she accepted that. "She was more than happy with Notre Dame." McKinley also took official visits to Oregon, Washington and Tennes- see. He was scheduled to take a trip to UCLA in December, but canceled the visit at the last minute. When asked what aside from the academic pack- age made him comfortable at Notre Dame –– a school across the country –– instead of a local option like UCLA, McKinley explained that it was San- ford's personality combined with the coaching staff that made the difference. "I just think that the experience Notre Dame has through Coach Den- brock and Coach [Brian] Kelly … they can put guys in the NFL," McKinley said. "I feel like they have the experi- ence and can get me to the next level through practice in terms of the train- ing and practices. "I was never scared of the distance. In my mind I always thought that the school that best fit me was going to be the one. It didn't matter how far it was or how close it was, it was just what was going to be best." NFL aspirations aside, the relation- ship McKinley has with Notre Dame starts and ends with Sanford. "He was definitely a big factor in my recruitment," McKinley said. "He did a nice job of recruiting my mom. It all just worked out." Notre Dame and Sanford hope that's the case on the field, too. ✦