Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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lete Tommy Mister camped at Notre Dame twice in June for a one-day and three-day event after receiving an Irish offer in May. He then attended the home game against Michigan Sept. 22, went to the Miami game at Soldier Field Oct. 6 and headed back to South Bend for the Stanford game Oct. 13. Needless to say he has seen his fair Oak Lawn (Ill.) Richards junior ath- share of the program and it's an inte- gral factor in Notre Dame being in the pole position in his recruitment. "I like the coaching staff a lot," the Illinois Junior Athlete Focusing On Irish PREP PROFILES TOMMY MISTER level. Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin have all ex- pressed interest. Mi s t e r, who Class: 2014 Status: Offered Position: Athlete Ht.: 6-2 · Wt.: 185 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Richards High School Oak Lawn, Ill. the flexibility the Irish offer. "It's endless what I can do there," completed 66 of 135 pass attempts for 746 yards with eight touchdowns to go along with 124 carries for 489 yards and seven scores in 2011 as a sophomore, likes 6-2, 185-pound player said. "[Offen- sive coordinator] Chuck Martin is be- coming somewhat like a dad to me. That's what I want in a college and coaching staff. People I can look up to like my parents. It's a great staff. They know what they're talking about on and off the field. "I like the facilities and the campus. I didn't expect it to be so nice. I've never seen anything like it in my life. My parents liked it a lot." Illinois and Indiana are among the he said of the appeal of Notre Dame's football program. "I can move around, and that's a huge upside. "Watching Notre Dame play, I liked programs that have offered the ver- satile athlete, who can play quarter- back, wide receiver, running back or even defensive back at the collegiate the way the offense played, and I loved the way the defense played." The Illinois native can also see the advantages off the field if he were to join the Irish, which remains in the best spot to land him as part of the 2014 recruiting campaign. "I like the academics," Mister con- tinued. "They're top five in the nation for graduation rate. And all of their African-American players graduate from there." His only other visit this season was to in-state Illinois for its 17-3 loss against Minnesota Nov. 10. — Jason Sapp and Steve Wiltfong