Elite 2023 Offensive Lineman Kaydn Proctor Talks Notre Dame Interest, Visit Schedule
Of all the prospects at the Under Armour Columbus Camp from over the weekend, few were bigger than 2023 Des Moines (Iowa) Southeast Polk offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor -- both figuratively and literally.
Measured at 6-6 and 317 pounds, Proctor is listed as the No. 2 offensive tackle in the country and a five-star recruit based on 247Sports.com's composite scale. At the camp, Proctor's size was evident as he towered over many of his lineman contemporaries, but he was a limited participant on the day, competing just in drills as opposed to the one-on-one portion.
Proctor was asked about recruiting following the camp, and it became clear he's very, very early in the process.
“I have just been chilling right now, calling a couple coaches here and there and talking to some recruiters,” Proctor said at the camp. “I've just been sitting back, going to my high school, getting my grades up, going through the track season and trying to get focused for that.”
Though Proctor did not mention which schools he talks to the most, instead stating that he is talking to “all of them,” the five-star said he planned to take an informal trip to Ohio State after the camp wrapped up on Sunday since it is so close to Fortress Obetz.
In terms of his interest in Notre Dame, Proctor mentioned that he has been talking with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn and the two FaceTimed recently.
“It's going pretty good with him,” Proctor said of his relationship with the Irish line coach. “I'm starting to like Notre Dame ... [We] watched lots of game clips of some of the past players that are in the NFL now. I was watching that with him and all that stuff. We have a good bond right now.”
Over the past several years, the Fighting Irish have been successful in putting offensive linemen in the NFL, and that selling point has been made clear to Proctor thus far. Player development is one area the five-star sophomore is paying attention to, so it is prudent that Quinn is hitting on that aspect already.
When it comes to the expiration of the dead period, Proctor does not have a firm handle on where he is going to visit, but he is slowly adding stops to his itinerary. First, Proctor has family out in Arizona, so he expects to stop at Arizona State when he heads out West in the near future.
From a bit more of a macro view, Proctor is teammates at Southeast Polk with talented 2022 safety Xavier Nwankpa, and the high four-stat defensive back is a big target on Notre Dame's board in the current recruiting cycle as well. Both players have mentioned making the right decision for them personally, but it could help the Fighting Irish land Proctor if his teammate also makes the call to head to South Bend for college.
Here is Bryan Driskell's analysis of Proctor's showing:
"Proctor didn’t take any one-on-one reps. He moved well in the limited drill reps I saw, considering his size. What I noticed about him during the event was how massive Proctor is. He’s not only tall with above-average arm length, he has a thick lower half that should allow him to develop into a dominant run blocker.
"Even in a limited capacity, Proctor showed that he has a high ceiling and could very well develop into a multi-year starter at the college level. As such, Proctor is one of the top blockers in his class, and Notre Dame is thoroughly in pursuit of his verbal commitment."
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