2025 Pass Rusher Gus Ritchey Is Fresh Off Another Great Visit To Notre Dame

For the second time in 30 days, Pittsboro (N.C.) Northwood pass rusher Gus Ritchey made the trip back to Notre Dame, this time for the Blue-Gold Game. The 2025 defensive end was able to have an even longer stay during his most recent trip, and he got a chance to see the full scope of what the Irish program can offer.

Ritchey and his mother were both impacted by the visit.

"(The trip) was awesome,” Ritchey told Irish Breakdown. "It was really cool. I got the chance to talk to some commits and recruits. I spent some great time with Coach (Al) Washington and Coach (Nick) Sebastian. It was great to show my mom around.

"She was loving every second of it,” he continued. "She was out there talking and meeting other parents. She's a big fan of the coaches as well.”

Ritchey arrived on Friday but obviously the main attraction was the spring game on Saturday. He left the game with a high opinion of just how good this team can be in 2023 based on that performance.

"The atmosphere was so much fun even though it was a spring game,” said Ritchey. "They have some amazing fans. I thought the offense looked great and that defense is going to really be fast and tough. They are so well coached and they were having fun.”

As a sophomore, Ritchey had a ton of production as a pass rusher. The plan, as of now, is for him to play more linebacker as a junior. That could change how some teams see him but for now, there’s no questioning what role Notre Dame sees from him.

"I'm hearing of a possible chance to play linebacker more and more from other schools but right now they like me getting after the quarterback from that Vyper role,” he explained. "I'm going to play some linebacker this year so I think I'll have a good chance to show off some other areas of my game. I've gained a lot of speed this off-season so it's going to be fun playing different spots on defense.”

Wherever Ritchey ends up positionally, it appears the Irish staff has an interest in him being part of the defense. Seeing him back again in the future should be little surprise.

The 6-3, 230-pound athlete has already garnered the attention of several big time programs. Some of his notable offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Ole Miss, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke among others.

Ritchey is already well liked from a recruiting ranking perspective. He is currently pegged as a four-star recruit by Rivals, the only site who has evaluated him thus far. They have him ranked as the No. 102 overall player and No. 8 strongside defensive end in the 2025 recruiting class.

As a sophomore, Ritchey put together a dynamic season on both sides of the football. As the team’s starting tight end, he hauled in 32 receptions for 490 yards and five touchdowns. He would also rush for a touchdown on the ground.

On defense, he collected 61 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and ten sacks. Ritchey also forced two fumbles as well.

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