Notre Dame assistant coach Bob Elliott is making his way around the state of Arizona recruiting this week and on Monday, he offered a scholarship to 2014 receiver Mark Andrews of Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.
“It’s not too shabby when you have one of your kids offered by Notre Dame,” Desert Mountain head coach Tony Tabor laughed. “It doesn’t happen every other day, so yeah, it’s pretty good stuff.”
Andrews adds the Irish to a list that already included Arizona, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Ohio State, UCLA, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon State and several others.
“University of Oklahoma really likes him, Michigan and Ohio State both like him, UCLA,” said. Tabor. “Pretty much all of the big BCS places; everything from the ACC – Virginia has offered him, Duke. He can kind of go where he wants, I think.”
Elliott made it clear how impressed the Irish staff is with what they’ve seen from Andrews, who caught 81 passes for 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior.
“(Elliott) said he was a ‘freak,’” Tabor said. “The kid is almost 6-6, 230 and he’s a receiver, he’s not a tight end. He’s a strong kid. Everybody tries to double-cover him and bracket him and he’s found ways to get open all season long. He’s a playmaker.
“He’s a good kid, that’s the other thing. I know the quality of kids Notre Dame is looking for. Mark’s smart in school, he has a great work ethic. He’s one of those kids who is a pleasure to coach. I don’t get those bad phone calls; I get nothing but good phone calls.”
Even with the offers starting to pile up, Andrews was excited by the Irish offer, according to his coach.
“I think it’s definitely a place he’d think about visiting,” said Tabor. “He’s not scared to leave the state or even the western part of the United States. I know he wants to be at a big-time place. I think that’s why the Oklahomas and the Notre Dames and the Michigans are really appealing to him. He wants to play on the biggest platform.”
And he’s hoping to stay at receiver at the next level.
“That’s what he keeps telling everybody,” Tabor said. “They keep telling him, ‘Yeah,’ but who knows what will happen? But to be honest, watching him play, he plays like a receiver. I know that sounds crazy, but I think that’s why Coach Elliott called him a ‘freak.’
“He’s not that standard prototypical receiver; he’s kind of that Plaxico Burress-type. He’s a big, old kid. He’s a smidgen under 6-6 and he’s about 220 right now because he’s playing basketball.”
