David Robinson. Jon Bon Jovi. Torii Hunter. Another celebrity is set to hit the Notre Dame sidelines this fall as incoming freshman—and social media phenomenon—Parker Boudreaux begins his college football career.
“You don’t know P-Money?” Brian Kelly cracked on Signing Day.
Boudreaux’s 56,000 Twitter followers come from a recruitment that had the hulking interior lineman unofficially amass more scholarship offers than any other player in the country (tough to prove, but a fun tidbit nonetheless). It saw him pick Notre Dame by pulling a school bus in a video produced by Bleacher Report.
Mike Denbrock to Parker Boudreaux, who just sent NLI: "You might be the only guy in America who's not happy to have this process over."
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) February 3, 2016
Now he gets to be a freshman on an offensive line coached by Harry Hiestand.
Let’s take a look at what’s to come for the Florida native as he begins life as a college football player.
PARKER BOUDREAUX
6'3", 300 lbs.
Freshman, OL
RECRUITING PROFILE
Boudreaux was a 4-star recruit per 247Sports with 70 offers before picking Notre Dame. He was a 5A state champion in Florida. Boudreaux was selected a MaxPreps first-team All-American, AP first-team All-State Florida, 5A Florida Athletic Coaches Association Player of the Year. Tom Lemming ranked him the No. 45 player nationally. He played in the Blue Grey All-American Bowl.
FUTURE POTENTIAL
It’s hard to see a scenario where Boudreaux doesn’t wear a redshirt this season. While he certainly looks to have the strength needed to survive as a freshman along the offensive line, it appears the Irish will be just fine with him watching and learning—maybe even taking a few lessons from Quenton Nelson, another confident, brawling offensive guard who was cherry picked by Hiestand from a national list of suitors.
But Boudreaux isn’t as long or large as Nelson, and he profiles closer to Tristen Hoge than any of the tackles that transitioned inside under Hiestand. That makes him a candidate to play center as well, simply because there’s always a need to find interior linemen who can snap the football.
CRYSTAL BALL
Ultimately, you’ve got to see an offensive lineman at work before you make a determination on his future. Some guys have a knack for playing beyond their physical means (Zack Martin) while others can have all the physical tools but struggle to put it all together. There’s a reason that Boudreaux had scholarship offers from just about every major program in the country. And it wasn’t because of his online persona.
Jokes aside, Boudreaux’s personality is one that’ll serve him well as a college football player. That confidence should pay dividends as he tries fighting his way through a depth chart filled with linemen that all had impressive offers and four stars next to their names. But humility will be important for Boudreaux to embrace as well. A freshman on the scout team is a long way from being one of the most followed high school football players on the internet. That’s a transition worth watching.
While I’m predicting a redshirt, the short-term future for Boudreaux is exciting nonetheless. He’ll be on an offensive line that’ll have two standout NFL prospects (Nelson and Mike McGlinchey) and if he’s able to impress this summer, he might even have a chance to find his way into a depth chart fight at a still uncertain right guard spot.
With Nelson, McGlinchey, Alex Bars, Hunter Bivin and Sam Mustipher all veterans, there’s opportunity sooner than later up front. Don’t be surprised if P-Money already knows that and has plans for big things sooner than later.
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Alex Bars
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Hunter Bivin
Grant Blankenship
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