Jashon Cornell has heard all about Notre Dame from James Onwualu over the last year and the 2015 Minnesota linebacker/defensive end continues to hear about the Irish now that his former Cretin-Derham Hall teammate is actually attending classes in South Bend as an early enrollee.
“He’s been saying it’s a hard school,” Cornell said of Onwualu. “He said it helps you gain weight. The weight program they have him on is really good and the coaching staff is really good, the school is really hard though. That’s what he said.”
Cornell, who worked out with Onwualu on Wednesday, will get another chance to check out Notre Dame soon.
“Next week, I’m going to Detroit for the adidas Invitational,” the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder from St. Paul, Minn., said. “I’m planning on stopping at Notre Dame. James is back for spring break now, but I’m planning on going to see him out there and talking with the coaching staff.
“Then, I’m going to go to Detroit for the adidas Invitational and then probably take an unofficial at Michigan and on the way back, stop in Chicago for an unofficial to Northwestern.”
With the adidas Invitational set for Sunday, March 24th, Cornell’s stop in South Bend could end up coinciding with the Irish’s Junior Day next Saturday, but he isn’t completely sure.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the campus again, talking to the coaches and seeing where I am on their board right now,” said Cornell.
The 2015 prospect has been pegged as one of the top players in his class for about a year now and the offers have started to come in from schools like Minnesota, Iowa and Rutgers.
“It feels really good right now. I’m still trying to stay humble, but there’s a lot of pressure right now and we’ll see if I keep on doing what I’m doing,” he acknowledged.
Notre Dame assistant Chuck Martin has been recruiting Cornell and the Irish had the chance to work him out at their camp last summer.
“I haven’t talked to Coach Martin in a while, but I plan on calling him sometime this week just to give him a heads up on me coming this week.”
