Former Notre Dame Star CJ Prosise Continues To Be A Lucky Underdog

When you think of former Notre Dame running back CJ Prosise, fans are flooded with loads of memories. You might see his 75-yard jet sweep touchdown against LSU in 2014. You might think back to the countless big plays he made in 2015, accounting for 1,337 total yards and 12 touchdowns, his lone year of playing running back on the college level.

Then, of course, there’s being selected with the 90th overall selection in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. It was quite the career for the Virginia native, one that definitely defied the odds. The star gazers back then wouldn’t have been happy, recruiting a three-star with a smaller offer list.

It was a process that Prosise thought back to. It’s still a little surreal the he ended up with the Irish.

“Compared to what it is these days, (my recruitment) was prehistoric,” Prosise told Irish Breakdown. “Everything for me was kind of close knit with my family and close ones. Even when Notre Dame recruited, I was just a three-star guy. I wasn’t big time and I wasn’t going on a lot of visits. I was kind of surprised when Notre Dame started recruiting me honestly.”

As Prosise was defying the odds, he was also starting a nice pipeline to Woodberry Forest, a school that has been great to the Notre Dame program over the years. That includes former Irish linebackers Greer Martini and Doug Randolph, as well as 2023 defensive line signee Armel Mukam.

“I was the first ever guy to get recruited by Notre Dame from my school so I kind of started that pipeline,” said Prosise. “Being able to connect those two schools was one of my greatest accomplishments.”

Designated as an athlete, there were some questions for where the Virginia star would end up long term. He spent time at safety, wide receiver and running back during his Notre Dame career and that may have caused him to go somewhat underrated as a recruit. It was definitely a mild recruiting process compared to some stories you hear.

“My process was pretty basic,” he explained. “I started getting offers in February of junior year. On the signing day of the previous class, I think I got like five offers that day.

“Notre Dame offered me like 30 days later and I committed like two weeks after they offered me,” Prosise continued. “My process was basically two months long. I didn’t go on any visits, not any.”

Despite some minuscule attention, there was one coach in particular that Prosise remembers wanted to impress. Unfortunately, there was never a reply.

“Al Golden was at Miami when I was in ninth or tenth grade,” Prosise explained. “I was sending him my film through email thinking he was going to look at it. He probably never saw any highlights I sent him but nowadays I could have just sent it to him wherever, on Instagram or sent it right to his page and he could have seen it. It’s just a different world now.”

Life after football has been good for Prosise, who actually started his own Notre Dame podcast. It’s called Lucky Underdogs, which he hosts along with former Irish cornerback Devin Butler. While the two were a part of the program, that was a mantra that they adopted.

It has stood until now, pushing to start this podcast.

“That’s really why we started Lucky Underdogs,” he said. “It’s what we were. We are here to highlight the playoffs who don’t get the credit or recognition. It’s about the players who do their thing and never get the headline.”

Prosise is yet another example of a player who far outplayed his recruiting ranking. Stars undoubtedly do matter but not all talent is developed the same. The talented athlete was just one of the prominent examples that recruiting success goes well beyond offering the top players on your favorite recruiting site’s ranking.

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