After watching Notre Dame’s loss at Michigan last week, Cameron Dillard will see the Irish play again this weekend, when they host Michigan State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.
The 6-foot-3, 280-pound junior offensive lineman from Canton High School (Plymouth, Mich.) enjoyed his visit to Ann Arbor last weekend.
“It was a great atmosphere,” he said. “It was crazy down to the last two seconds of the game. Everybody went crazy, even all of the recruits and stuff. You felt real blessed to be there with all of the tradition and stuff. It was a great opportunity.”
While the crowd and the Wolverines’ win certainly made an impression, Dillard also paid attention to the Irish.
“I actually thought they did real well,” he said. “It was great to see Kyle Brindza kicking and it was great to also see Brennan Beyer. Those two I played against. I thought, overall, Notre Dame played real well. I definitely liked the o-line and the left guard, #66 (Chris Watt), looked real good too.”
Dillard didn’t spend too much time walking around the Michigan campus before the night game.
“We didn’t really tour anything, but we were able to see Champion Hall and spend some time with the coaches,” he said. “They just want to see my first three game films.”
Dillard has an early offer from Eastern Michigan and is receiving strong interest from schools like Notre Dame, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Oregon and West Virginia. He is anticipating another exciting game between the Irish and the Spartans on Saturday.
“I’m just really looking forward to all of the tradition,” he said. “There are plenty of great players that Notre Dame had. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m really excited about this weekend.”
Dillard toured Notre Dame’s campus this summer, when he visited for the Irish’s linemen camp.
“I got to see mostly everything,” he said. “I just want to see their indoor practice field, that’s one thing I want to see, that and the weight room.”
Dillard won’t be the only recruit at the Notre Dame-Michigan game who will be in South Bend this weekend. Fellow 2013 Michigan recruits Wyatt Shallman and Steve Elmer are expected to be in attendance on Saturday as well.
“I talked to them at the (Michigan) game, just seeing what’s going on and catching up with them,” Dillard said.
Dillard stays in contact with Irish recruiting coordinator Chuck Martin regularly, but is looking forward to seeing Martin and the other Notre Dame coaches again.
“I definitely want to talk to them in person,” he said. “I talked to them on the phone a lot, but it’s always great to talk to them in person. I’m looking forward to that.”
