LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – They weren’t surprised, but they were definitely excited.
Alex Anzalone, Hunter Bivin and Colin McGovern were happy to hear that the number of Notre Dame commits at the Under Armour All-America Game had grown by one with the commitment of Florida running back Tarean Folston on Wednesday.
“It’s a good pickup,” said Bivin. “He’s a good back. Him and Greg Bryant will be a good two-headed rushing attack. I’m excited.”
“That’s awesome,” McGovern added when told the news. “I’ve been hearing a lot of things about it and I’ve been able to talk with him a little bit throughout the week. He seems like a great kid, so it’s definitely a good pickup.”
Anzalone was glad that Folston made the best decision for himself and that ended up being the Irish.
“It’s exciting to get a heckuva athlete,” the Pennsylvania linebacker said. “He’s out here playing defensive back when he’s going to play running back or slot in college. That just shows his athleticism. It’s a big get for us.”
Anzalone is also excited to see what Folston and Bryant will do together in the Irish backfield for years to come.
“It’s going to be fun to watch,” he said. “It’s going to be tough going against them on defense in practice, but it’ll definitely get me better.”
Bivin knows Folston as well as any of the current Irish commits as the two played together in Texas this summer and were together for Folston’s official visit to South Bend in October.
“He’s a good guy,” said Bivin. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders, obviously he does, he’s coming to Notre Dame. He’s a good back, he’s a good athlete.”
The news quickly spread all of the way across the country to the Irish commits participating in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in California.
“It was big news for us,” offensive line commit Mike McGlinchey told ISD’s Sean Mele. “Obviously with the o-line commits we already have and Greg and now Folston - it's going to be a big push for our offense. I think it's a great fit and a huge addition to our class.”
McGlinchey informed cornerback commit Devin Butler.
“It’s just great with him and Greg,” Butler said. “They’re two really explosive backs out of Florida and two guys that can just flat out fly. They have great vision and great size and they’ll really complement each other well.”
Fuller also met Folston during his official visit to Notre Dame.
“He said he liked Notre Dame, but it really didn’t seem like he did, so I was really excited that he committed,” Fuller said. “McGlinchey, Devin and Malik were all talking about it and we’re really excited.”
Zaire’s excited to see his future backfield take form.
“I feel this brings us one step closer to the national championship,” Zaire said. “He and Greg are going to be a deadly duo or dynamic duo - whatever you want to call them. It’s going to be a lot of help on my end of things too, especially when I can hand the ball off to them and they’ll get 15 or 20 yards. I’m really excited.”
Bivin also thinks the 2013 class is going to bring great things to South Bend.
“I think we’re piecing everything together,” he said. “I think we’ve got everything we need. We’ve got some solid defensive players, solid o-line, solid running game, good quarterback with Malik. I think we’re looking good.”
