Ian Bunting has been under the weather the past few days, but it all it took was a single phone call to make the 2014 tight end prospect feel like himself again – at least for a little while.
“Coach (Chuck) Martin asked me to call him yesterday,” Bunting explained earlier today. “We were talking for a while and at the end of the conversation he congratulated me and told me I had an offer from Notre Dame.”
“I was really sick and just laying in my bed,” he continued. “But that made me feel a whole lot better.”
Even though the 6-foot-7, 215-pounder had suspected an Irish offer was forthcoming, the moment it happened was still memorable. In fact, the moment any school extends a scholarship never gets old.
“About a week ago Coach Martin told me they were close to offering me,” Bunting said. “It wasn’t a complete surprise, but it’s always a great feeling whether you know about it or not.”
Although he plays wide receiver in high school the expectation in his recruiting is that he’ll make the move to tight end when he gets to college. He’s fully aware what that means should he decide to commit to the Irish.
“They (Notre Dame) offered me at the tight end position,” Bunting explained. “And I’m fine with that considering Notre Dame’s track record with sending guys to the NFL. I’m watching Tyler Eifert right now at the NFL Combine and he’s tearing it up.”
“Most of the schools I’m talking to are recruiting me as a tight end,” he continued. “So it was no surprise to me that the offer made by Notre Dame was for me to play tight end for them.”
Notre Dame’s offer immediately placed them high on the Hinsdale Central High School star’s list of possible future schools.
“I’m really, really excited about it,” Bunting stated. “It’s such a great opportunity and they are definitely one of the schools that I’ll consider the most highly.”
He currently holds nine offers from mostly Midwestern schools like Illinois, Indiana, and Northwestern. That being said, his favorites besides the Irish are an SEC school and one of the most popular football schools in the western states.
“Notre Dame is definitely among the top of the schools recruiting me,” Bunting said. “I feel right now they’re in the same category as Oregon and Vanderbilt, but there are still a lot of other schools that I’m interested in too.”
He was able to get to South Bend for one of the most exciting games of the 2012 season and it left a lasting impression on the Hinsdale, Ill. native.
“I was on campus when Notre Dame played Stanford,” Bunting explained. “I liked it a lot - it’s a really nice campus. The tradition there is awesome and from what I saw it’s definitely a place where I could potentially see me going to.”
With the Notre Dame offer on the table the urgency to see the campus again increases for Bunting and he’ll get another chance in April.
“I’m going to try and go down there on April 13,” Bunting stated. “I believe that’s during their spring practice and they’re inviting a bunch of guys to go down.”
