Notre Dame has a final need in their recruiting class. And over the weekend, they sold Louisiana safety Justin Reid that he could fill it.
The Irish staff rolled out the red carpet for Reid and his father, the late-January official visit hopefully a compelling reason for the Louisiana product to pick Notre Dame when he decides between the Irish, Stanford and hometown LSU, where his brother Eric starred.
The early reports are in and just about all of them say Notre Dame did a good job making a solid first impression.
Just ask Reid himself:
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How Reid’s recruitment shakes out should be interesting to watch. There are a variety of things pushing and pulling the talented safety from Baton Rouge. Late interest from hometown LSU. The allure of Stanford, with the added bonus of his older brother just minutes away, a second-year pro with the 49ers.
Yet Reid talked about why Notre Dame could give him the best of both worlds, even without some of the comforts of home and family.
“I’ve been trying to get a pros and cons list,” Reid told Irish Illustrated ($). “Pros for each, Notre Dame I feel a little bit more comfortable. The atmosphere around football is more of what I crave being from Louisiana and SEC country. Stanford has a little bit better weather and it’s nice having my brother living 15 minutes away from Stanford so if I ever want to get away from the university.”
One pro certainly on Notre Dame’s side is early playing time. The Irish will expect Reid to be able to contribute from the moment he steps onto campus, and made that clear over the weekend.
At six-foot, 195-pounds, Reid doesn’t strike you as a physically imposing safety, yet a quick look at his highlights shows a strong safety that could immediately compete with Elijah Shumate and a still-rehabbing Drue Tranquill as an in-the-box safety.
After spending the weekend with hosts Cole Luke and Durham Smythe, Notre Dame gave Reid the best look they could. Now it’s up to the young safety to make the best decision for him.
“I’m going to have to digest things from this weekend at Notre Dame. I’m going to go home, sleep on it and figure things out. I had a great time,” Reid told Irish 247 ($).
“It was a really good trip. It was way better than I expected. It was surprising to be honest. I didn’t know anything about the school, but now I have a great feel for everything.”