Notre Dame Recruiting Commitments Draw Attention After Pregame Handshake Drama

College football gets fully underway this weekend, but the high school game is in full swing nationwide.

A massive game featuring a handful of Notre Dame recruiting commitments took place this past weekend, and of all things, it was the pregame handshake that drew the most attention.

St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was playing host to DeSoto of Texas, a team also ranked in the top 20 nationally entering the game.

Aquinas features three Notre Dame commitments: safety Zayden Gamble, and wide receiver Julius Jones, Jr., both in the 2027 cycle, and safety Andre Jones in the 2028 cycle (both sons of former Notre Dame great Julius Jones).

DeSoto Refuses to Shake Hands During Pregame Coin Toss

After the coin toss, the officials lined the captains up to shake hands before kickoff. It was there that the DeSoto team refused to shake hands, instead ignoring the Aquinas players who attempted to do so.

DeSoto (Texas) captains refused to shake hands with Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas captains.

It’s not only poor sportsmanship, it’s poor leadership from the coaches to allow this at this level.

St. Thomas took a 38-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 38-14 win.

DeSoto…
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) August 31, 2026

What followed was an epic destruction as Aquinas ran up a 38-0 halftime lead before calling off the dogs in the second half, ultimately winning 38-14, with the future Notre Dame players being key reasons why.

Jones finished the game with a touchdown and, in the contest, passed Cameron Benson to become the all-time leading receiver in yardage at traditional national powerhouse Aquinas.

Notre Dame commit Julius Jones with PRECISION on the quick slant TD 🎯 St. Thomas Aquinas up 38-0 at the half pic.twitter.com/0Fgmbipq8q
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) August 30, 2026

It's also worth noting that Pro Football Hall of Famer and Miami Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin also played high school football at Aquinas.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts:

I don't understand the flex the kids or coaches think it is to refuse to shake hands.

"Oh if you don't like someone, don't shake their hand!"

What did anyone from Aquinas possibly do to anyone from DeSoto to warrant that?

It looked dumb when players from Kansas refused to shake Baker Mayfield's hand years ago and it was ridiculous with this.

To go full Uncle Rico for a second, I can't begin to imagine the reaction any of our captains at Coal City High School would have gotten from our head coach Lenny Onsen if the thought of that was even presented, let alone done, 23 years ago.

DeSoto Football has addressed the incident that occurred at the St. Thomas Aquinas football game. We view this as an opportunity for our young men to learn and grow from their mistakes.

We would like to formally apologize to the St. Thomas Aquinas community, coaching staff, and…
— DeSoto Football (@FootballDesoto) August 31, 2026

The refusal to shake hands puts the kids in a bad light, but as the saying goes, the fish stinks from the head.

Now, thanks to that moronic behavior, few people realize that DeSoto has won a state championship in Texas in three of the last four years, but instead associate it with being "that school that refused to shake hands and then got launched into the sun".

Good on DeSoto for putting out the apology, but how does it ever get to that in the first place?

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