The 6-foot-8, 297-pounder, who committed to Notre Dame over a month ago, got to take in an offensive line meeting and see his future teammates practice on his latest visit to South Bend.
“That’s what I wanted to be able to see,” Decker said.
It was Decker’s first chance to see any collegiate practice.
“I was really impressed with how efficient everything was,” he said. “It was real fast-paced. The drills were somewhat what I would have expected to see an offensive line do, but they were super efficient and everything was really fast-paced. They got everything they needed to do finished in a short amount of time. That was the one thing that I didn’t see coming.”
Decker is excited by the prospect of fast-paced practices.
“It looks fun to me,” he said. “I know sometimes with my high school practices, they take a little longer and there’s more downtime. (At Notre Dame), you’re always busy and you’re always doing something so your mind’s not wandering off.”
Decker was also impressed with the absence of sprints at the end of practice.
“I’m sure practice gets them in good enough shape and they do enough of that with Coach (Paul) Longo,” he said.
He also enjoyed Ed Warinner’s offensive line meeting.
“I just sat in the back and watched Coach Warinner do his thing,” said Decker. “Beforehand, they were talking and seemed like really cool guys. I think I’ll fit in great. I picked up a couple of things that I didn’t know before. I could definitely see myself there.”
Decker noted Warinner’s instructions for the linemen to keep their shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage when pass blocking.
“At my school, we don’t really teach much pass blocking,” he said. “We just do slide protection and stuff.”
The mental aspect of the game intrigues Decker.
“A lot of guys have the physical tools, but I think the hardest part is learning the new offense and new techniques,” he said. “A lot of the physical stuff is involuntary, you just do it naturally. I think the hardest part will be the mental aspect of it.”
Decker will be back on campus this weekend for the Blue-Gold Game and will be a sounding board for other recruits who want to know about Notre Dame.
“I think it’d definitely be good for kid to not just hear it from the coaches because the coaches are going to sell their school,” he said. “But if they hear another kid, it could be reassuring to them that they’re making the right decision.”
Decker has already talked with a couple of Irish prospects, including fellow Ohio native Ifeadi Odenigbo.
“I just ask them what they think about it and I build it from there,” he said. “Maybe I felt some of the same reasons. I ask them what they think of the other schools compared to Notre Dame. It’ll be different for every person I talk to.”
Decker keeps close tabs on Notre Dame’s recruiting process online and will get a closer look this weekend.
