Despite reports to the contrary, Notre Dame didn’t offer Curtis Samuel a scholarship last week.
“They didn’t offer anybody,” Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) head coach Danny Landberg said. “They didn’t offer him, they just wanted to come see him.”
And Irish assistant coach Bob Diaco did stop by the school to see the 2014 athlete.
“They just wanted to find out about his talent,” Landberg said. “He just wanted to see what was going on. He’s doing his due diligence.”
The 6-foot, 185-pound Samuel already has offers from Connecticut, Rutgers and Syracuse with interest from several others. Landberg can’t say enough about his star back.
“He’s the best athlete I’ve ever had in my life,” the coach said plainly. “He’s got the greatest gears in terms of 0 to 60 of anybody I’ve ever had. He ran a 4.4 as a freshman.
“He’s not even 17 yet. He’ll be 17 in the summer.”
Samuel is also positive away from the field.
“He’s a great kid,” said Landberg. “He doesn’t have any tattoos, he doesn’t curse, he doesn’t go out. He’s a homebody type of kid. He’s been a football player since he was seven years old. He’s a good student. There’s nothing but positives there.
“It is rare. The kid we had before that, Wayne Morgan, who plays at Syracuse right now is one of those kids as well, but this one just happens to be a little bit more skilled.”
Samuel could probably play running back or receiver at the next level. He rushed for over 1,000 and 13 touchdowns on 91 carries as a junior. He had another 187 receiving yards and caught three touchdowns while also bringing back a pair of punts for scores.
Notre Dame may not have offered, but the Irish are definitely interested.
“Diaco showed up and showed his love so to speak,” Landberg said. “You have to take Notre Dame serious when they come by and I think he understands.”
Samuel doesn’t have a timetable for a decision and is looking to get out to visit more schools in the coming months.
“We’ve been to the locals, UConn, Syracuse, Rutgers, those guys. We’re probably going to get to a couple majors sometime this summer.”
