Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2016 RECRUITING ISSUE It was also the truth. Hiestand offered Boudreaux the spring before his junior season. At the time, the Louisiana native was mull- ing over offers from a number of high- profile schools across the country, but Hiestand wasn't looking at many line- man outside of Boudreaux. That set the stage for a make-or-break type of recruitment for the Irish. Boudreaux took unofficial visits to Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama and Auburn, but it was two-day trip to South Bend in early June that put the Irish at the top of his list. "When I went there, just to see how unique and different it was, was some- thing," he said. "The campus is beauti- ful, the people are amazing, and every- one just wants to see you succeed." A month after the visit, Boudreaux committed to Notre Dame by pulling a 16,000-pound yellow school bus in a Bleacher Report video. He fastened a belt around his waist and tugged on a rope that moved the bus to eventually reveal an Irish logo that was plastered on the ground. It was about as unique as an an- nouncement ceremony could get, but one that only Boudreaux could pull off given his persona. "Coach Hiestand is a little old school," Boudreaux said. "But he loved the video of the bus. He said that he's never recruited someone like me be- cause I act like a skill player and not a lineman." Hiestand's right. Boudreaux isn't like the other line recruits, but he's out to prove he's just as a talented as Notre Dame linemen from the past. ✦