Steve Elmer arrived at Notre Dame’s one-day camp on Thursday with offers from Michigan State, Mississippi State, Syracuse and Wisconsin, but admitted the offer he picked up from the Irish after the camp was a little different.
The 6-foot-6, 297-pound 2013 offensive tackle from Midland, Mich., comes from a Catholic family of Notre Dame fans and was very excited about the offer after a taxing day at the camp.
“A long day, but a good day,” said Elmer. “A great day.”
The offer didn’t take Elmer completely off-guard, but he was still taken aback.
“I wasn’t super surprised because they kind of hinted at it before that I might get one, but I guess you can never really prepare yourself for it,” he said. “You think, ‘Wow, those guys are awesome up there on the field.’ You grew up watching those guys play football on TV. Once Notre Dame offered me, I don’t know, it was kind of hard to imagine that they were offering me a scholarship to play for them and be part of this program. It was crazy.”
Elmer stressed that he’s been excited about all of the offers he’s received thus far.
“I’ve been thrilled with the other offers I’ve gotten too, but this one is great too,” he said. “It’s really, really exciting.
“It is a little bit different. It’s more than football. I think it’s more of the spirit of Notre Dame that is really special. All of the tradition there and everything about Notre Dame is terrific. The campus is amazing. Everything is great.”
Elmer was excited to spend time with his recruiting coach, Chuck Martin, and Notre Dame offensive line coach Ed Warinner.
“Every time I’m around (Martin), I like him a little bit more,” Elmer said. “Coach Warinner was great. He had a lot of really good things to say. He helped me out with some techniques and stuff like that that I’ve been trying to correct. It was good to get some more direct coaching from him.”
Elmer didn’t get the chance to talk with head coach Brian Kelly, but Martin extended the offer on behalf of Kelly and Elmer plans to speak with Kelly soon. Elmer left campus briefly before returning to take a tour of campus with Martin. Elmer had walked around campus during last year’s camp, but Thursday was his first extended look at it.
“I didn’t actually get to see a lot of it then, but I saw a lot of the really big landmarks yesterday,” he said. “It was awesome.”
The Irish coaches are already working hard on the Class of 2013 and have told Elmer along with Pennsylvania tight end Adam Breneman and Washington quarterback Max Browne that they’re looking to get things started soon.
“They were excited about us and they’d love to have someone commit early,” Elmer said. “I’d definitely consider it. There’s just a lot of other things to consider too, a lot of other factors, but Notre Dame is definitely near the top of our list.”
Elmer said all of the schools that have offered so far are under consideration still.
“It’s going to be tough to take them out of the thing,” he said. “It’s going to be a really, really hard decision to make.”
Notre Dame was Elmer’s last stop on the camp circuit this summer, but he intends to get back on the road in the fall.
“This fall we’re going to be going to some games, checking stuff out, making some unofficial visits,” he said. “We’re just trying to get to know the different schools a little better, get a better feel for them, try to collect some more data and figure out what I like and what’s good for me, my education and how I’ll be treated.
“We’ve got to spend some more time looking at stuff and how it goes on at all of the schools and make an informed decision.”
