“It was amazing,” Shallman said. “A little cold and a little rainy, but it was great.”
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Shallman plays defensive line and fullback for Detroit Catholic Central. He’s being recruited by most schools as a defensive lineman, but Shallman was told by Irish assistant Chuck Martin that he’s versatile enough to play other positions.
“Notre Dame brought up to me that they could have me at different spots because they told me I catch the ball well,” said Shallman, who has been timed at 4.70 in the 40-yard dash. “Coach Martin kind of talked to me about that. I don’t know, I think I could play outside linebacker there, I think I could play slot receiver even too.
“As long as I’m on the field, making plays and helping the team win, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Notre Dame graduate assistant Jonathan Carpenter gave Shallman and his parents a tour and the sophomore also spent time with Martin.
“We actually know Coach Martin because my dad played at Grand Valley, so we’d always go to the Grand Valley camps when he was the coach,” said Shallman. “We had a connection with him, so it’s easy to talk to him. A lot of those coaches are from Grand Valley, so they’re easy to talk to.
“He was just saying, ‘We really like you. We’re very, very, very impressed with your film. It’s awesome that you’re that big and can move like that.’ They want me to come up for a workout on the 23rd of June. After that, we’ll see what’s going on. But they’re really, really interested in me.”
Shallman was impressed with the atmosphere and facilities at Notre Dame, “It’s Notre Dame after all,” he said. He even got to go into the Irish locker room after the game.
“It was pretty exciting,” he said. “It was just crazy because you see the banners and the sign that they hit on the way out. You only see that in the movies and stuff, but to see it in real life is crazy.”
Shallman has been to Penn State a couple of times, has visited Toledo and is hearing from Wisconsin. It’s still very early in Shallman’s recruitment, but he already has an idea of what he’s looking for in a college.
“I come from a Catholic high school that’s been around for awhile and it has a lot of tradition,” he said. “I’m going to look for a school that is really a brotherhood or a big family because that’s what my high school is and that’s what I like. I’m going to go to a school that really embraces academics over sports. Not only do I want to play football, but I also want to be a well-rounded man.”
Shallman believes Notre Dame fits that loose outline.
“I really do,” he said. “Notre Dame is just steeped in tradition. Everywhere and everything has tradition behind it. I really, really, really like Notre Dame.”
