Wyatt Shallman doesn’t have an offer from Notre Dame yet, but the 2013 athlete from Detroit Central Catholic High School has received some signs that indicate he’s a priority for the Irish.
The most recent signal came on Saturday, when the 6-foot-3, 245-pounder spent the day being shown around campus by Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Chuck Martin.
“It’s pretty cool,” Shallman said. “It doesn’t really set in until after you’re done, like, ‘Wow, the Notre Dame recruiting coordinator hung out with me all day.’ I’m kind of just reflecting on it now and it’s really sweet. It’s a blessing. I’m just glad God has blessed me enough to even get the opportunity to talk to him, let alone hang out with him for a day.”
Shallman was at Notre Dame’s spring game in April, but didn’t get the chance to see much of the campus until Saturday.
“We just got shown the Gug more in depth and he took us around the whole campus and showed us everything,” Shallman said. “We watched some of the big man camp that was going on and he drove us around in a golf cart.
“We saw the lake, the Basilica, the Grotto. We went around the whole campus, so we really saw everything. I’ve never been on campus when it was sunny, so it was nice for it to be sunny. It’s a beautiful campus. I really like it, it’s really beautiful. The way things are set up, everything is really close and you can’t really get lost.”
Shallman said he’d heard he might receive an offer if he worked out at Notre Dame’s Lineman Challenge on Saturday, but decided against it because of a minor injury and football practice set to start in a month. Still, Shallman isn’t really worried about it right now.
“They’re really excited, they really like me,” Shallman said of the Irish coaches. “I couldn’t work out, so I think that put a damper on some things, but who knows, things could shoot up here in the next couple of weeks. I think if I perform well this season and do all of the things I’m supposed to do, I’ll get an offer from them.”
Shallman and Martin spent a good amount of time talking about where Notre Dame sees him fitting.
“A lot of schools are offering me for running back, but Notre Dame wants to offer me at Cat, which is like an outside linebacker/rush defensive end because of my speed and quickness,” said Shallman. “They say I’m very athletic, so I can drop in pass coverage. They said Cat or even middle linebacker if I keep gaining some weight here, basically linebacker or if I get real heavy, d-end.”
Position won’t be a major factor for Shallman in his decision.
“I don’t really care where I play,” he said. “If you put me on the field, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to make plays for my team. Who knows, maybe if I work hard enough, maybe they’ll give me the ball a couple of times each game.”With his junior season approaching fast, Shallman is looking forward to relaxing over the next month and taking a step back from recruiting. The Irish impressed him this weekend, but it figures to be a tough race to land Shallman, who already has offers from Michigan, Cincinnati and Syracuse.
“I really like Notre Dame,” he said. “They’re definitely up there as one of the top schools for college football ever, so I really like them. I really like Michigan and I also like Wisconsin a lot because they use big backs and I’m a big back.”
